


Children of Gallifrey

by cazmalfoy



Series: Torchwood House [2]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 18:54:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 33,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1658843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack and Ianto have to try get a handle on their powers if they're going to stop Rhiannons' vision from coming true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> By the middle of October, Ianto Jones had learnt several things. 

The first was that Gwen Cooper wasn’t as annoying as he had originally thought; she was just trying her hardest to be his friend. While that sometimes made her irritating, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her for it.

The second was that his sister, whom he had been told had run away from home at sixteen, had actually been shipped off to Torchwood. She was, in fact, a powerful Pre-cog and had two gorgeous children who Ianto couldn’t wait to meet.

The third, most important and shocking realisation (at least as far as Ianto was concerned) was that he actually enjoyed spending time with his roommate, Jack Harkness. 

Ianto sighed and looked at the time. Said roommate had been gone for almost half an hour and Ianto was getting impatient.

Almost on command, the door opened and Ianto looked up expectantly. “Tell me you got them,” he instructed immediately.

Jack shook his head, throwing Ianto an apologetic look. “She’s nowhere to be found,” he replied, pulling his jacket off and throwing it on the floor. “Her office is locked up and she’s not in her classroom,” he added, jumping onto his bed with a sigh.

Ianto growled in annoyance and closed the computer, not bothering to shut it down. “Typical. Gwen’s going to kill us.”

Jack rested his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. “It’s not our fault,” he muttered. “We finally get permission to go to the cinema – in a group of five of us to make things safer, no less – and we can’t find the bloody teacher to get my car keys off her.”

Ianto rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “Do you have to do that?” he asked, picking the jacket up from the floor and folding it up, before throwing it on the bed next to Jack. “It wouldn’t kill you to pick something up, you know.” He didn’t know why - maybe it was from a childhood of living in a house that was forever immaculate - but Ianto couldn’t stand when things were a mess.

Before he could move away, Jack reached out and grabbed his wrist. “We could always entertain ourselves?” he suggested, getting to his feet and stepping closer to Ianto. 

Ever since Jack had conned Alicia – although Ianto suspected she knew anyway - into letting him have his keys back temporarily to get ‘something’ from his car, the American had found keeping his hands to himself extremely difficult; especially when Ianto was trying to do work and focus on something other than him, which Jack didn’t seem to like. He was such an attention whore when he wanted to be.

Ianto raised an eyebrow and looked at his – God, were they boyfriends, yet? “Anything in particular you have in mind?” he feigned innocence, knowing full well what Jack wanted.

The other teenager pouted and stepped even closer to Ianto, not stopping until there was barely an inch between them. “I’ll show you,” Jack decided, dropping his voice to a whisper, seconds before their mouths met.

Ianto groaned against Jack’s lips and moved his hands to rest on the American’s waist, twisting his fingers in the belt loops of his jeans as he slid his tongue inside Jack’s mouth.

In the month that had passed since the first time Ianto had kissed Jack, one thing that he still found amazing was how good it felt to kiss him. Not just the kind of good that aroused him – God knows it did – but the kind of good that made Ianto gasp at the feeling alone. Jack’s skin was so much cooler than Ianto’s; an unfortunate side effect of his powers that had caused Jack a world of pain in the past. To Ianto, that feeling of cold against his own superheated skin was the most beautiful feeling in the universe.

Jack’s hand slid down Ianto’s back, cupping his arse and dragging him closer. Ianto, not one to be outdone, reached between them and began massaging the other teenager’s cock through his jeans.

“Oh God!” Gwen’s voice cried loudly. 

The couple sprang apart instantly, both of them flushed and breathing heavily as they turned to face her.

“Sorry,” she apologised, biting her lip to stop from laughing and making sure her eyes remained firmly on their faces – despite how tempting it was to sneak a look lower.

Ianto glared at her and rolled his eyes, adjusting his T-shirt. “No you’re not,” he retorted.

“Shame you didn’t keep quiet,” Jack added, sitting on the edge of his bed and running his hand through his hair. “You would have gotten a better show then.”

Gwen laughed and shrugged her shoulders, silently admitting that they were right. 

“Anything in particular you want, or did you just feel like bursting into our room uninvited?” Ianto asked, flopping down onto his own bed.

“If you didn’t want anyone to come in, you should have locked to the door,” Gwen pointed out.

Ianto lifted his head and looked at Jack. Together they both cried, “It’s your fault,” accusingly.

“What?” Ianto demanded, pushing himself into an upright position. “How is her bursting in here my fault? You were the one that came in last.”

Jack’s reply, whatever it might have been, was cut off when something metal hit him in the centre of the chest. “Ow!” he cried, rubbing the area and glaring up at Gwen who had thrown the object at him. “What was that for? You could have done damage with…”

His voice trailed off when he realised what Gwen had thrown at him. His car keys: looking as shiny and perfect as he remembered. “Where did you find them?” he asked, picking them up reverently and staring at them in awe.

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Any one would think you’d never seen them before,” she muttered under her breath. “I just passed Miss Morgan about five minutes ago. She asked me to give them to you.”

“I was just at her office; there was no one there!” Jack cried indignantly.

“Believe it or not, Harkness, the world does not revolve around you,” Ianto retorted, standing up and grabbing his jacket from the hook behind the door. “She was probably in a last minute meeting with Hartman or something,” he added, grabbing his phone and wallet from where they were lying on the dresser.

“Come on, then,” he added, noticing that Jack hadn’t moved from the bed. “The film starts in…” he glanced at his watch, “an hour. Unless you want to see the later showing and get back here at two in the morning, I suggest we get going.”

Jack blinked and looked at his own watch, seeing that Ianto was right. He hadn’t realised how late it actually was.

Gwen grinned and turned on her heel. “I’ll get the others,” she told them. “Meet you at the car,” she added just as the door closed behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack and Ianto arrived at the American’s car to find Owen and Gwen arguing with each other, while Tosh stood to the side shaking her head.

“What are you two arguing about now?” Jack asked, chuckling to himself as he unlocked the car. All Owen and Gwen seemed to do was argue; anyone would think they didn’t actually like each other.

“Owen is under the delusion that he’s going to sit in the front,” Gwen retorted, not shifting her glare away from Owen.

Owen shook his head, “Gwen’s the one who’s under a delusion.”

Ianto snorted with laughter and opened the passenger side door. “You’re both deluded,” he stated, sliding into the seat and closing the door behind him.

Gwen and Owen both stared at him as he fastened his seatbelt. He didn’t need to move the seat forward – it was still in the same position it had been when they had last been out in it; there was plenty of room behind him.

“Are you okay there, Tosh?” Ianto asked, looking over his shoulder at the Japanese woman as she climbed into the back behind him.

Tosh nodded her head and fastened her own seat belt. “I’m not that tall,” she replied with a smile. “I don’t need that much leg room.”

“How come he gets to sit in the front?” Owen demanded, indicating that Gwen should get in the middle between him and Tosh.

“Yeah,” Gwen agreed with a nod. “We’ve both known you longer.”

Jack rolled his eyes and started the engine, turning the radio down as Ianto opened the glove compartment and began rifling through Jack’s CDs. “It’s my car; therefore I get to decide who rides shotgun. Ianto is my boyfriend, so it stands to reason that he gets first choice about where he wants to sit.”

Owen scoffed at Jack’s use of the word ‘boyfriend’ and rolled his eyes. “God, you’re such a pouf!” he muttered, fastening his seatbelt.

Jack grinned and looked at him the rear view mirror. “Oh yeah,” he purred. “But don’t worry, I’ll always love you.” He puckered his lips and blew a kiss, aimed at his best friend and earning him Owen’s middle finger.

Ianto’s eyes had widened at Jack’s use of the ‘b’ word as well, but no one seemed to notice. As he picked a compilation CD and slid it into the player, he slouched back in his seat and stared out the window; guess that answered his question about whether they were boyfriends, then.

On the way from the car to the cinema, Ianto placed a hand on Jack’s arm, pulling him back a little as the others carried on walking. “Boyfriend?” he asked softly, his voice too quiet for their friends to hear.

Jack frowned and looked at Ianto. “What?” he asked in confusion.

“Earlier, in the car, you called me your boyfriend,” Ianto clarified.

“Oh,” Jack murmured, finally latching on to what Ianto was talking about. “I… We…” He rolled his eyes at himself. “I thought that’s what we were,” he finally admitted. “I mean, I know we’ve been sleeping together for the past few weeks and -,”

“It’s been a month,” Ianto interrupted him. “You’ve finally got your keys back. It’s been a month.”

“If you don’t want me to call you my ‘boyfriend’ I won’t,” Jack said softly. “I just thought… Since we…”

If Ianto liked to pride himself on anything, it was that in the month he had been seeing Jack, he had figured out the tell-tales signs that indicated the American was about to go into full babble mode.

“Jack?” Ianto stepped closer to him. “Shut up,” he instructed. “I don’t mind. I just like to know things like that,” he added.

He reached up, burying his fingers in Jack’s hair and kissing him firmly to silence him.

Before Jack could react, Owen’s voice shouted, “Oi, leave him alone,” from the bottom of the stairs leading into the cinema.

They broke apart and made their way over to their friends; they weren’t quite holding hands, but occasionally their fingers would brush and they would feel heat – or ice – spread up their arms, reminding them of the other’s presence.

“Calm down, Harper,” Jack rolled his eyes, brushing through them and making his way to the ticket desk. “You’ll get a boyfriend eventually then you’ll be singing a completely different song.”

“Fuck off, Harkness!” Owen snapped, following his friend and punching him on the back. He winced and rubbed his hand when he felt the American’s body temperature; even through his clothes, Jack was ice cold. “God, you’re freezing. How do you put up with it?” he asked, his eye flickering over to Ianto as Jack bought the tickets.

Ianto laughed and pressed his own hand against Owen’s cold one as he passed, making the Londoner jump at the intense heat.

“Well, that makes sense,” Owen murmured, his eyes flickering between Jack and Ianto as they sorted out the tickets. “One of you is ridiculously cold, the other’s ridiculously hot.”

Ianto nodded his head, handing Owen and the girls their tickets. “Cancels each other out,” he agreed, placing a hand over Jack’s to prove a point; they could touch each other and not be bothered by the temperature.

“We’re going to the loos,” Gwen advised them, looping her arm through Tosh’s as they headed in the direction of the ladies’ bathroom. “Get us popcorn and drinks,” she instructed over her shoulder.

“Why do girls go to the toilet in pairs?” Owen asked, shaking his head in amazement as they headed to the confectionary section of the cinema.

“No idea,” Ianto replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “So they don’t get lost?” he suggested.


	3. Chapter 3

Halfway through the film, Ianto and Jack lost interest and turned their attentions to each other: much to the annoyance of Owen who was sat on one side, and the amusement of the girls who were sat on the other side.

When the lights came up as the end credits rolled, they finally broke away from each other gasping for air.

“That was a good film,” Jack commented, smirking at his boyfriend as they got to their feet. 

Owen rolled his eyes, “How would you know? Could you see it in the back of Ianto’s throat?” he scoffed.

Ianto laughed before groaning when the girls announced they were going to the bathroom again. “Again?” he exclaimed, staring at them in disbelief. 

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “It’s a long drive back,” she pointed out before heading into the bathroom with Tosh.

Jack bit his lip and blushed lightly. “Yeah, she’s got a point. I did drink most of that soda we bought,” he added thoughtfully.

Ianto chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I’m going to have a smoke while you lot are doing what you have to do.” 

He kissed Jack once more before heading towards the main entrance, pulling out his cigarettes as he moved. Lighting a cigarette and taking a drag, he sighed thankfully. It felt like it had been days since he’d last had a smoke. 

Rhiannon kept nagging at him to quit, but he just reminded her that he’d been smoking since he was thirteen; he wasn’t likely to stop anytime soon. Jack hadn’t made any comments about him smoking since they’d started going out; Ianto suspected that he knew better than to start an argument.

Not even a minute after he’d left the cinema, his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He sighed and rolled his eyes, knowing who it would be. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the display, rolling his eyes again when he discovered he was right.

“What did you say about checking up on us?” he asked, flicking the phone open and putting it to his ear.

“That I wasn’t going to do it,” Alicia’s voice replied. “And I’m not, I’m just…”

Ianto laughed and took another drag of the cigarette. “You’re checking up on us,” he snorted with a shake of his head, expelling a cloud of smoke in front of him.

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “Fine,” his and Jack’s guardian reluctantly admitted, “I’m checking up on you, okay?” Ianto tutted and she chuckled. “I know what you two are like when it comes to getting in trouble. I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.”

“Then why’d you let us come?” Ianto retorted with a smirk. “You could have just as easily made us…” He trailed off when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up.

“Ianto?” Alicia’s voice asked in concern when her charge fell silent. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.

The sound of her voice was enough to make Ianto snap out of his gaze and he shook his head. “Nothing,” he hurried to assure the almost-frantic telepath. “I just thought someone was looking at me; that’s all.”

“Ianto…”

“It’s fine,” Ianto argued. “Jack’s come out of the cinema, that’s all it is. I’m going to go. See you tomorrow in class.”

“You either call me, or send me a message when you get back to the school, or you’ll be getting a glass of cold water over you at two a.m.,” Alicia threatened.

Ianto laughed and dropped his cigarette to the ground, stubbing it out with the toe of his trainer. “I will do, ma’am,” he promised with a smirk.

“Don’t call me that,” Alicia ordered. “I’m only three years older than you. It’s weird.”

By the time he had cancelled the call and slid the phone back into his pocket, Jack, Owen and the girls had reached him. “Let me guess,” Jack said, looking at the expression on his boyfriend’s face. “Alicia?”

Ianto rolled his eyes and threaded his fingers with Jack’s. “Either she’s predictable, or that was a very educated guess,” he murmured, following the others back to Jack’s car.

Every so often, he would throw a look over his shoulder to see if there was anything suspicious behind them. Not that he knew what he would do if there was. 

Jack frowned when Ianto looked again before getting into the car. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded, opening the door and sliding into the driver’s seat.

Ianto shook his head. “Nothin’,” he muttered, looking around once more and fastening his seatbelt. “Nothing,” he added when he saw Jack looking at him incredulously. “It’s just… You know what Alicia’s like. She’s got me paranoid,” he lied.

“That’s still really weird to hear,” Owen commented from behind Jack as the American pulled the car out of the cinema’s car park.

Jack chuckled lightly, still a little concerned by Ianto’s attitude. “Try not calling her it in the middle of class. It’s really hard. It took him weeks to get used to calling her by her first name.” He nodded in Ianto’s direction.

Gwen bit her lip. “I still don’t think I get it. So, she’s like… Your legal guardian?” she ventured a guess.

Ianto shook his head. “She’s our powers’ guardian. We are both still under the guardianship of our parents-,”

“For what good that does,” Jack interjected bitterly.

Ianto sighed and reached over, placing a soothing hand on his boyfriend’s thigh. “At the end of the day, what they say still goes – theoretically. Alicia is in charge of helping us figure out how to use our powers together.”

“Then why is she acting like she’s your mother?” Owen asked.

Tosh rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t you get it?” she murmured, looking over at the other teenager. “Alicia is worried that Rhiannon’s vision will come true, so she wants to protect them as much as possible. Which means that she’s acting like their mum.”


	4. Chapter 4

It was nearing one in the morning when they arrived back at the school. As soon as they entered the gates, Ianto pulled his phone out and began typing a message.

“Who the hell are you texting this early in the morning?” Jack asked, spotting his boyfriend quickly typing something.

“Alicia,” Ianto replied distractedly, sending the message and snapping the phone closed. “She told me to let her know we were back, otherwise we’d get ice water over us at two a.m.”

Jack chuckled and shook his head as they got out of the car. Ianto was about to close the door when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up again. “What the-?” he muttered to himself, looking around as the others got out of the vehicle.

Jack scowled and pressed a kiss against Tosh and Gwen’s cheeks – Owen hit him before he could do the same to him – and saying goodnight. The girls looked reluctant to leave them when Ianto was clearly distracted by something but Jack quickly assured them he’d be okay with the Welsh teenager.

“Ianto?” Jack called over the roof of the car. “What is wrong with you tonight?”

Ianto blinked and shook his head, turning back to Jack. “Nothing,” he replied unconvincingly.

“Don’t give me that. It’s bullshit, Ianto, and you know it,” Jack snapped, locking the door and moving around the car so he was stood next to his boyfriend. “What is wrong with you?” he added, reaching out and placing a hand on Ianto’s arm.

Ianto sighed and lowered his head. “I feel like I’m being watched,” he confessed.

“What?” Jack exclaimed. “How long have you felt like that?” he asked.

“Since we left the cinema,” Ianto replied.

“Since we… Ianto, why didn’t you say something?” Jack cried angrily.

Ianto glared at him. “What good would it have done? Besides, I thought I was imagining it! You came out of the cinema just after I felt it; I thought I was feeling you looking at me.”

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked around them, trying to see through the darkness. “I can’t see anyone now,” he said softly. “But that might be because it’s one in the morning,” he added, yawning widely as he spoke.

Ianto nodded his head and grabbed Jack’s hand, lacing their fingers as they headed toward the school. “It’s probably just my imagination,” he said, not entirely sure who he was trying to convince. “That’s what is it. I’m just losing my mind.”


	5. Chapter 5

All the way through the lesson, Alicia had noticed that Ianto was practically falling asleep at his desk. Jack had been periodically throwing the Welsh teenager concerned looks, but Ianto was either ignoring him or hadn’t noticed.

By the time the class left, Ianto’s eyes were closed as he rested his head on his hand. They were supposed to have an after school lesson, where Alicia could help them control their powers; but, looking at Ianto, she quickly decided that she wasn’t mean enough to do anything other than send the teenager to bed.

“Ianto,” she murmured, crossing the room and placing a hand on the young man’s arm, gently shaking him a little. “Wake up,” she added. 

Ianto woke with a start and looked around him wildly, presumably trying to figure out where he was. “Sorry, Miss Morgan,” he apologised, “can you repeat your question?”

Alicia chuckled and stepped away from him, picking up a few pieces of paper that had fallen to the floor and throwing them in the waste paper basket. “You’re not in class now, Ianto,” she informed him. “You don’t have to call me ‘Miss Morgan’.”

Ianto blushed uncharacteristically and ran his hand over his eyes. “Sorry,” he apologised again. 

“You’re exhausted,” Alicia stated, picking a pile of books up from her desk and began placing them back on the shelves where they belonged.

Jack looked over at his boyfriend who looked dangerously close to falling asleep again. “Late night,” he replied with a small shrug of his shoulders.

“It wasn’t that late.” Alicia frowned deeply. “You text me about one o’clock. I know you’ve stayed up later than that before.”

Ianto’s eyes flickered open at the sound of their voices and he sighed heavily, running his fingers over the grain on the desk in front of him. “I couldn’t sleep,” he confessed softly. He didn’t mention that Jack had tried to stay up as well, but exhaustion had eventually taken over the American and he had eventually succumbed to sleep.

Alicia clicked her tongue in disapproval and shook her head. “That’s what you get for going to see a horror film last night,” she scolded.

Jack chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Would you believe me if I said we didn’t see a horror film?” he asked.

“No,” Alicia stated bluntly. “I’ve seen your DVD collections; they’re mostly gore and horror,” she pointed out.

Ianto snickered. “We went with Tosh and Gwen, Alicia,” he reminded her. “Even with Owen, we were overruled.”

Alicia laughed loudly as Ianto thought about the film they had actually seen and the images flickered through her mind; Ianto was clearly too tired to even attempt to shield his mind. “I see what you mean,” she murmured, knowing that the film was a new romantic comedy aimed specifically at girls – not something neither Jack nor Ianto would usually enjoy. “So, why couldn’t you sleep then?” she asked, getting back on topic once more.

Ianto shrugged his shoulders, barely suppressing a yawn. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “Too much caffeine at the cinema, I suppose,” he suggested.

Jack raised an eyebrow and looked at Ianto. The American knew he was lying, but there was something about the look in Ianto’s eyes that made Jack keep his mouth shut. “We did get a large coke each,” he lied, trying carefully to keep his mind shielded from Alicia. “And he,” he jabbed an accusatory finger in the direction of his boyfriend, “ended up drinking most of mine.”

Alicia rolled her eyes and glanced at her watch; it was still early in the afternoon, but, judging by the heavy bags underneath the Welsh teenager’s eyes, he wasn’t going to stay awake much longer. An affectionate smile flickered across her face when she realised that Ianto’s eyes had fallen closed once more.

“Jack, why don’t you put to sleeping beauty to bed?” Alicia suggested, nodding to Ianto.

The American chuckled and elbowed his boyfriend, jerking him awake once more. “Come on,” he instructed, placing his hand in his boyfriend’s and pulling him to his feet.

“We’ve got to stay,” Ianto murmured half-heartedly, pointing back at Alicia. 

Alicia shook her head. “No, you don’t,” she argued. “Jack’s going to take you to bed… Not in that way!” she exclaimed, glaring at the American when he grinned widely. “You need to get some rest,” she ordered.

Ianto tapped two fingers to his temple in a mock salute, before allowing Jack to pull him to his feet and drag him out of the room. “Stop pulling me,” he whined, trying to pull his hand out of Jack’s.

Jack rolled his eyes and tightened his grip, pulling Ianto down the corridor quicker. He didn’t speak until they had reached Torchwood Three. “You lied to her, Ianto,” he stated, continuing up the stairs to their dorm.

“No, I didn’t,” Ianto muttered, sitting down on his large bed as soon as they reached their room. 

“Don’t lie to me, Ianto,” Jack scoffed, shaking his head as he threw his bag onto his own bed. “I know you didn’t sleep last night. You were awake when I fell asleep and then again when I woke up. Something is…”

He trailed off when he turned around and saw that Ianto had fallen back on the pillows with his eyes closed. The American teenager smiled affectionately and quietly crossed the room. “Night, Ianto,” he whispered, bending down and placing a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s lips, before moving back to his own bed to get some of his homework done while he could be bothered.


	6. Chapter 6

Ianto stirred, blinking slowly as he felt the cobwebs of sleep gradually clearing. For a moment he had an awful feeling that he had fallen asleep in class, but he looked around the room and let out a small sigh of relief when he realised that he was lying in his own bed, wearing nothing more than his boxers.

He turned over and smiled when he saw that Jack was lying on his back, his mouth slightly open and he was snoring lightly. Ianto didn’t remember getting ready for bed, so he could only presume that Jack had got him ready the night before.

The Welsh teenager leant up on one elbow and looked over Jack’s sleeping form, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. It was only eight o’clock on a Saturday morning, but yet Ianto was feeling more awake than he had been for a week.

He turned and regarded Jack once more. From the moment they had started sleeping together, Jack had declared Ianto’s bed that much comfier than his own and had barely slept in his own since. Reaching out, Ianto ran his hand down Jack’s side, grinning to himself when the American stirred in his sleep, but otherwise didn’t wake. 

An idea striking him, Ianto ran his hand further down Jack’s side, skimming over his hip and running over the top of his thigh. As was the norm recently, Jack was sleeping naked and Ianto grinned widely, licking his lips at the thought of a naked Jack under the sheets. 

He ducked his head and pressed a kiss against Jack’s chest, flicking his tongue out and running it over the American’s skin. Above him, Jack mumbled something and stirred in his sleep, though he didn’t wake. Ianto grinned and slowly began kissing his way down Jack’s body, pausing to nip at his left hip with his teeth.

By the time the Welsh teenager had reached Jack’s cock, the American was awake and fully alert. “Wow,” Jack breathed, shifting a little and running his hand through Ianto’s hair. “What a way to wake up.”

Ianto grinned up at him and pressed a soft kiss against the head of his cock in greeting. Jack groaned deeply and tried to push his hips forward, only to be stopped by Ianto’s hot hands on his cold hips.

“Spoilsport,” Jack muttered, glaring darkly at his boyfriend.

The other teenager laughed and shook his head. “What do you want, Jack?” he whispered. Hot breath on Jack’s skin made him shudder with pleasure and anticipation. “Do you want me to lick you?” He punctuated his question by licking Jack’s cock from root to tip. “Bite you?” He nipped lightly at the soft flesh of Jack’s hip. “Or suck you?”

He paused, his mouth hovering over Jack, mere inches away from the head of his cock, causing Jack to groan with annoyance and frustration. “Suck me,” he gasped, tightening his grip on Ianto’s hair and trying to push his head closer. Ianto’s mouth remained stubbornly closed, waiting for one word from Jack. “Please, you bastard,” he eventually ground out when he realised that Ianto wasn’t going to do anything until he got what he wanted. “Please suck me, Ianto,” he begged.

Ianto didn’t need to hear anything else; that had been what he was waiting for. He dutifully lowered his head, and sucked the tip of Jack’s cock into his warm mouth. Jack moaned – partly with relief, but mostly with pleasure – at the heat that surrounded him and tightened his grip on Ianto’s hair.

“God, Ianto,” Jack breathed, trying to urge Ianto to suck him deeper. “Please…” he begged.

Ianto grinned around Jack’s cock and slid his hand up the inside of the American’s thigh. When he felt Ianto’s index finger brush against his entrance, Jack bucked up, pushing more of himself into Ianto’s mouth and moaning loudly. The heat from his boyfriend’s finger spread through Jack’s body and the American was certain that it wouldn’t be long before he burst into flames.

The finger slid inside his body and Jack’s gasped at the intrusion; vaguely wondering in the back of his mind when Ianto had found the time to find the lube. It wasn’t long before Ianto had three digits buried inside the American, and Jack knew he would burst into flames if Ianto didn’t do something soon.

“Enough,” he growled, tightening his grip on Ianto’s hair and pulling his head away from where he had been sucking and licking Jack’s balls.

Ianto smirked and looked up at his boyfriend, licking his lips as he plastered an innocent look on his face. “Something you wanted?” he questioned, his voice sounding nothing more than slightly curious.

Jack tried to glare at him, but when Ianto flicked his tongue out and licked the head of Jack’s cock, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he let out a low moan. “Fuck,” he breathed, his chest rising and falling with each panting breath.

Ianto leant up and crawled up Jack’s body, not stopping until they were face to face. “Do you know what I want?” Ianto whispered, nuzzling Jack’s cheek and running his tongue across the other teenager’s jaw.

Jack’s breath hitched when he felt Ianto’s teeth nip at his throat and he managed to rasp out, “What?”

Ianto lifted his head and looked Jack in the eye. “I want you to ride me,” he confessed, his eyes darkening with arousal at the very thought.

Jack’s own balls tightened as he imagined himself doing what Ianto had in mind. “Fuck,” he repeated his earlier expletive.

The American placed his hands on Ianto’s hips, rolling them over so he was pinning Ianto to the mattress. They kissed passionately and Jack groaned at the taste of himself on Ianto’s tongue. Ianto only pulled back when he heard the drawer open. Turning his head to the side, he could see Jack rummaging in the drawer for something.

“What are you looking for?” he asked. “I’ve got the lube here,” he added, holding up the small tube he had retrieved while he had been sucking Jack’s cock.

Jack shook his head, his attention mostly focused on the drawer. “Not looking for that,” he muttered. “Looking for a condom,” he added.

Ianto laughed and placed a hand on Jack’s arm, pulling it away from the drawer. “Jack,” he stated slowly. “We were both virgins when we started going out and, unless you’ve been cheating on me while we’ve been together-,”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Jack exclaimed, glaring at his boyfriend.

“Then neither of us has anything to worry about,” Ianto continued, pushing the drawer closed with a bang. “Well,” he corrected himself, “if you don’t get a move on, you’ll have something to worry about.” At Jack’s raised eyebrow, he stated, “I’ll leave you here hard and wanting, while I finish myself off.”

Jack rolled his eyes and kissed him roughly; almost as if he were trying to steal every breath in the Welsh teenager’s lungs. 

Without saying another word, Jack shifted so that he had a knee on either side of Ianto’s hips. He quickly coated Ianto’s cock with a liberal amount of lube before tossing the tube to the side and positioning himself above the Welsh teenager.

Their eyes met and Jack slowly slid down onto his boyfriend’s hard shaft, never looking away from Ianto’s face. It was Ianto that broke eye contact with Jack as his eyes fluttered shut and his mouth fell open with a soft moan.

Jack grinned and slowly rose up onto his knees and off of Ianto’s cock. When Ianto was almost completely out of his body, Jack sank himself back down, drawing a loud, long moan from Ianto.

“Fuck, Jack,” Ianto breathed, reaching up and placing his hands on Jack’s hips and urging him to move faster. “Don’t go so fucking slow,” he growled.

Jack half-laughed, half-panted. He placed his hands on Ianto’s chest, balancing himself and giving himself leverage. His fingers toyed with Ianto’s nipples, twisting and teasing them as he began to move his hips faster, impaling himself further onto Ianto’s cock.

Ianto gasped in pleasure when Jack tweaked his nipples and he arched his back, pushing up into Jack’s touch. He released Jack’s hip and reached up, running his fingers through the American’s hair, pulling him down into a sloppy kiss.

The change in angle made Ianto’s cock brush against Jack’s prostate, making him moan deeply into Ianto’s mouth. “God,” he breathed, straightening his back and looking down at Ianto’s flushed face.

Jack curled his fingers around his cock as he met Ianto’s lust filled gaze with his own. He began stroking himself, slowly at first, until he couldn’t keep up the teasing pace and his strokes grew more and more erratic.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” Ianto murmured, running his hand up Jack’s chest and dancing his fingers over the American’s sweaty pectoral muscles.

Jack raised an eyebrow at Ianto’s uncharacteristic statement, but the lust clouding his brain wouldn’t let him verbalise his amusement at Ianto’s words. 

He ran his thumb over the head of his cock and the pre-come gathered there. “Come on, Jack,” Ianto murmured, placing his hand over Jack’s and stroking him as well.

Jack jerked as he felt his balls tighten and he came with a low cry of Ianto’s name, coating Ianto’s rising and falling chest with his come.

The look of rapture on Jack’s face as he came, coupled with the tightening of Jack’s internal muscles around his cock, made Ianto see stars and it wasn’t long before he pushed up into Jack and came with a guttural cry of the American’s name as he spilt his seed into Jack’s body.

Jack collapsed onto Ianto’s chest, not even trying to stop himself from crushing the other teenager as he tried to regulate his breathing and heartbeat once more. They kissed lazily for a long moment, twisting their tongues together. Jack let out a little whimper when he felt Ianto’s soft cock slip from his body.

Before either teenager could move, the door burst open and Gwen came rushing in, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she moved.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed, her eye widening in surprise when she saw the couple, before she squeezed them closed and spun around so she had her back to them. “Sorry,” she apologised, grimacing a little as her face flushed with embarrassment.

Ianto rolled his eyes and reached around Jack, grabbing the sheet and pulling it up; covering their naked bodies from Gwen’s view. “You really need to learn how to knock,” he muttered, scowling deeply at the other Welsh teenager’s back.

“You can turn around now,” Jack told Gwen, rolling off his boyfriend and flopping down on to the mattress beside Ianto.

Gwen snorted and shook her head. “I don’t think I want to,” she stated, slowly turning around to face them. 

Ianto laughed darkly when he saw that Gwen’s face was coloured red with embarrassment. “One of these days, we will remember to lock the door,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth to his boyfriend.

Gwen heard him and glared at Ianto. “Come on,” she instructed, pulling their bathroom door open and holding it for them. “Get showered and dressed; we need you.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re waiting for us?” he repeated, looking at her in confusion. “What for?” he demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

Gwen grinned widely. “You’ll see.”


	7. Chapter 7

It turned out that Gwen needed the couple to play rugby in Ianto’s clearing.

“You showed them this place?” Ianto exclaimed, striding into the clearing with Jack and Gwen, and seeing their friends waiting for them in the centre.

Gwen nodded her head, tightening her ponytail and crossing over to where Owen, Suzie and Tosh were waiting. “We can’t play rugby with only four of us,” she told them.

Ianto rolled his eyes. “You can’t even play it properly with teams of three people,” he reminded her. “There are only six of us.”

Jack shook his head and took a step back. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to make that five,” he stated. “I have no idea what rugby even is, let alone how to play it.”

All five of the other teenagers in the clearing turned and looked at Jack with incredulous eyes. “You… what? You’ve never played rugby?” Ianto asked slowly.

The American shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not exactly something we play at home, is it?” he retorted.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Jack, you’ve been living in the UK for most of the year since you were… what, nine? And you’ve never even bothered to learn about our sports?”

Jack glared at his boyfriend. “Alright then, smart-ass, what is this blessed rugby you keep going on about?” he demanded.

Ianto opened his mouth to answer Jack’s question, before it snapped closed once more when he realised he didn’t actually know how to explain rugby to his American boyfriend. “Er… I…” he stammered, blushing a little and diverting his eyes from Jack.

Gwen rolled her eyes and took over explaining from Ianto. “Just think of football – American football that is,” she instructed. She waited for a nod of understanding from Jack, before she added, “That’s what Rugby is, pretty much. Only without all the padding.”

“What?” Jack exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror. “Are you mad?” he demanded, looking around at his friends, who were all looking at him in bemusement.

Ianto chuckled and took a step closer to his boyfriend, placing his hand on Jack’s arm. “It’s not going to be exactly like that,” he assured the other teenager. “We won’t play a proper game anyway. Not with three girls on the team,” he added, glancing over at Suzie, Gwen and Tosh.

Suzie’s jaw dropped open at Ianto’s statement and she turned to look at Gwen and Tosh with an incredulous look. “Did you hear that?” she asked. “They really think they can beat us because we’re girls.”

Gwen scoffed and roughly unfastened her jacket, throwing it on the ground at her feet. “Come on then, boys,” she ordered. “Time for us to kick your arses.”

Jack and Owen turned to glare at Ianto. “I hate you,” Jack growled out through clenched teeth. “If you’ve just gotten us all killed, you’re dumped,” he threatened, jabbing a finger against Ianto’s chest.

Ianto rolled his eyes and pushed Jack’s hand away. “Come on, how bad can it be?” he said, his eyes flickering over to the girls.

~

Ianto’s idea to take on the girls proved to be very bad it turned out. Gwen, Suzie and Tosh didn’t hold anything back, and soon they were beating the boys and showing no mercy.

Jack gasped for air and leant his hands on his thighs as he leant forward, trying to catch his breath. “They’re killing us,” he panted, glaring at Ianto. “You’re so sleeping in your own bed tonight,” he muttered.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “I sleep in my own bed anyway. It’s you that doesn’t,” he pointed out.

Gwen, flanked by Tosh and Suzie, threw the rugby ball she was holding from one hand to the other. “Come on, boys,” she taunted. “I thought you were going to kick our arses.”

Owen shook his head, holding his hands up in defeat. “Can’t we just forfeit?” he asked, holding his hands up in defeat. “We’re not going to win, anyway.”

Suzie smirked and folded her arms across her chest. “All three of you have to agree to forfeit,” she stated, looking from Owen to Jack and Ianto; the couple were glaring fiercely at the Londoner.

“We’re not forfeiting,” Jack stated firmly, shaking his head. He might not have wanted to play rugby in the first place, but he wasn’t going to back down halfway through the game; they were going to beat the girls, even if it took all night.

Ianto whined and looked up at his boyfriend with wide eyes. “Jack, I think Owen’s got a point,” he said, running his hand over his forehead and wiping sweat away from his skin. “We’re getting killed. Let’s just call this a day,” he practically begged.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Ianto, you’re as competitive as I am; why are you wanting to back down on this?” he demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

Ianto wiped his hand over the back of his neck, grimacing at the feeling of sweat on the back of his neck. “Jack, we’ve been playing for hours,” he reminded the American. “It’ll be dark soon and, unless you’ve suddenly developed a new power that will let you see in the dark, we won’t be able to play.”

The Welsh teenager turned and looked back at the girls. “Will you accept two votes out of three?” he asked.

Suzie raised an eyebrow and looked over at Jack, who looked for all the world like he was about to burst into tears. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “We could play for a bit longer,” she mused, looking over at Gwen and Tosh.

The Japanese and Welsh teenagers nodded their heads, grinning from ear to ear as they regarded the boys. “It’s up to you,” Tosh chuckled, knowing perfectly well Jack’s competitive nature wouldn’t let him back down when they were losing.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Ianto’s neck stood on end and he spun around, looking into the trees surrounding the clearing.

Seeing Ianto’s action, Jack frowned and looked over at his boyfriend. “Ianto?” he asked, trying to get the Welsh teenager’s attention. “What are you doing?” he demanded when Ianto quickly stalked away from them.

Ianto ignored them and continued moving faster, until he was practically running. As he neared the tree line, he didn’t stop moving; instead, he continued through the trees. He jumped around a tree trunk that had fallen across the path at one point, and had to skip a little to avoid tripping over some trailing vines that covered the forest floor.

After almost ten whole minutes of running, Ianto was forced to stop and admit that there no way he could go deeper into the forest without getting lost. 

“I hope you’ve got a damn good reason why you decided to take off like an idiot,” an American accented voice panted from behind him, making him spin around in surprise; he had been so focused on moving through the trees that he hadn’t even realised he was being followed.

He sighed with relief when he saw that Jack was standing behind him, watching him with concerned eyes as he gasped for breath. “There was someone in here, Jack,” he stated, indicating around the area with his left arm.

Jack frowned and looked at Ianto in confusion. “What are you talking about, Ianto?” he demanded. “You sound like a fucking lunatic.”

Ianto sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I mean it, Jack,” he swore, nothing but sincerity shining in his eyes. “I could feel someone watching.” He slumped down on the forest floor, leaning back against the thick trunk of a nearby tree.

The American stared at him, before crouching down in front of his boyfriend. “Watching all of us, or just you?” he asked softly, reaching out and placing a hand on Ianto’s arm. 

He leant his head back against the tree, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I don’t know,” he confessed, his eyes flickering open and meeting Jack’s confused gaze. “Did you feel anything?” he asked. “Like eyes on the back of your head, or something?” he added.

Jack shook his head, offering Ianto a regretful smile. “Sorry,” he apologised. “I didn’t know anything was wrong until you ran off in here,” he nodded around to the forest. “Ianto, this is the second time you’ve felt like someone was watching you; we need to tell Alicia,” he stated.

“No, we don’t,” Ianto argued. “She’s already worrying enough about me as it is because of Rhia’s vision. I’m not going to worry her anymore,” he said firmly.

Jack bit his lip and looked at Ianto with uncertainty in his eyes. “Ianto, I…” he began, but Ianto shook his head, raising his hand.

“I mean it, Jack,” Ianto said, meeting his boyfriend’s gaze to ensure that his meaning wasn’t misunderstood in anyway. “If it happens again, I’ll tell her; but she’s got enough to worry about at the moment without me adding more trouble to the equation.”

Jack looked as though he was going to argue some more, but the determined look on Ianto’s face made him sigh and lower his head. “Fine,” he reluctantly agreed. “But if you feel something again, I’m telling her whether you like it or not,” he promised. “And you’re figuring a lie to tell Owen and the girls,” the American added.

Ianto grimaced and ran a hand over his hair. “Oh God,” he muttered. “They’re going to think I’ve completely lost my mind, aren’t they?”

Jack nodded his head, grinning from ear to ear as he placed his hands in Ianto’s and pulled him to his feet. “That’s why you’re going to think of something to tell them. I’ll make you sound certifiably insane if I do it.”

Ianto rolled his eyes and punched Jack in the arm as they began the walk back to the school, after Jack muttered that the others wouldn’t be waiting for them to return. “I’m going out with you; I stopped thinking I had sanity weeks ago,” he joked.


	8. Chapter 8

Less than a day after his sprint into the forest, Ianto was leaving the library after a few hours of trying to find something for history, when he noticed a flyer posted to the door; how he had missed it on his way in, he had no idea.

He frowned in confusion as he read the poster, before glancing at his watch and swearing when he saw what the date was. Somehow he had managed to completely forget Halloween fell at the end of October, and Torchwood went completely over the top when it came to parties.

“Have you seen the posters about Halloween?” Ianto asked his boyfriend when he returned to their room. “I completely…” He trailed off when he spotted Jack and Gwen lying on the American’s bed, staring intently at Jack’s computer. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he closed the door and flopped down on his own bed.

Gwen lifted her head and grinned at Ianto, jumping up from Jack’s bed and bounding across the room. “Did you say something about Halloween?” she asked, hopping onto the bed and hugging Ianto tightly.

Ianto frowned deeply and tried to extract himself from his friend’s deathly tight grip. “What are you two up to?” he asked, looking between his boyfriend and best friend.

Jack turned the computer off, and closed it as he pushed himself into an upright position. “Nothing,” he insisted, standing and stretching his back out, wincing when he felt it pop uncomfortably. “See?” he asked, looking over at Ianto. “This is why I sleep in your bed.”

Gwen laughed and rolled her eyes. “And the naked Welshman in it doesn’t contribute to that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ianto scoffed and flopped back onto the mattress, running a hand over his face. “For fucks sake, someone please save me,” he begged, staring up at the ceiling in desperation.

Jack raised an eyebrow and crossed the room. “You know your life would be boring if you weren’t friends with us,” he stated, sitting painfully on Ianto’s legs, making the Welsh teenager cry out in annoyance.

“Trust me,” Ianto stated, lifting his head and looking from his boyfriend to Gwen and back again. “Sometimes I’d rather take boring over this.”

Gwen chuckled to herself and got to her feet. “Thanks for doing… that for me, Jack,” she said, throwing him a meaningful look, before kissing him quickly on the cheek. “You need to get your costume figured out for Halloween,” she instructed Ianto, leaning down and kissing him on the forehead before leaving the two of them alone.

“What did you do for her?” Ianto demanded the instant the door closed behind Gwen. “And should I be worried?” he added, raising an eyebrow.

Jack scoffed and shook his head. “It’s Gwen,” he pointed out. “Not the likely candidate for a gay teenager to cheat on his boyfriend with, is she?” he asked, startling Ianto a little; Ianto had always assumed that because Jack flirted with girls almost as much as he flirted with the male students at Torchwood, he was bi-sexual as well just like Ianto was. He had never even thought to ask if it was true.

“So, what were you doing for her?” he asked, shifting so that he was leaning back on his hands and looking over at Jack, who was – thankfully – no longer sat on Ianto’s legs.

“I bought her Halloween costume,” the American shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s nice of you,” Ianto remarked.

Jack smiled. “Well, I tried to buy her Halloween costume,” he corrected himself. “She wouldn’t let me buy it outright; kept telling me that she’d pay me back. You know what she’s like when she’s in one of those kinda moods; she won’t take no for an answer.”

Ianto chuckled and nodded his head; he knew exactly what Jack was talking about. “What are you going as then?” he asked, running his fingers up Jack’s forearm, teasing the soft skin of his inner elbow. “A porn star?” he added; he knew it was a cheesy line, but he didn’t care.

Jack grinned even wider than before. “That would definitely turn a few heads,” he agreed. They both laughed when he struck a pose that could only be classed as obscene. “But, no, I’m not going as one of them. My porn star costume is only for one person in this school. Well,” he amended with a shake of his head, “two people, because certain boyfriends can’t keep their minds shielded around telepathic teachers.”

Ianto shrugged nonchalantly. “Like you care about her seeing you naked,” he muttered. “Are you going to tell me what you’re going as? Or, am I going to have to force it out of you?” he sounded almost hopeful when he asked the second question.

Jack snickered to himself and pressed a soft kiss to Ianto’s lips, before getting to his feet and grabbing the jacket. “I’m not telling you. You’ll have to wait until Halloween,” he stated, throwing the jacket on and heading to the door. “I need to go see Alicia about something. You coming to dinner tonight?” he added, opening the door and looking back at his boyfriend.

“What is it?” Ianto asked, trying to decide if he was hungry or not.

“Indian,” Jack replied, licking his lips at the very thought of spicy food. Ianto nodded. “I’ll meet you down there, then,” Jack said, moving out of the room.

The door hadn’t even closed when Ianto heard Jack call, “Don’t even try to look at the laptop’s history. I’ve already deleted it!”


	9. Chapter 9

October 31st arrived and, not for the first time, Ianto wished he could somehow figure out a way to get out of going to the party. Lisa had forced him to attend the party two years before, dressed as an un-dead groom to go with her ghostly bride. He hadn’t been to a proper party at the school since.

Jack had successfully managed to keep details of his costume secret from his boyfriend – even resorting to asking Alicia to look after it. Ianto had long since given up trying to figure out what the American was going as, and focused on his own costume.

He was straightening his tie, when there was a light knock on the door and it opened to reveal Gwen; she looked very sexy in a policewoman’s outfit. 

“Officer Cooper,” Ianto purred, taking Gwen’s hands in his own and spinning her around. “Why don’t we stay here instead of going to the party?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Gwen laughed at him. “What would Jack think?” she asked when he stopped spinning her around.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “I won’t tell him,” he swore. “As long as you promise to keep that outfit on.”

The young Welshwoman snickered and rolled her eyes, pulling her hands out of Ianto’s. “I have a boyfriend, Ianto,” she reminded him. “And so do you.”

Ianto shrugged his shoulders and took a step back. “Jack would understand,” he murmured, picking his jacket up from where it was lying on the bed. “Speaking of brash Americans,” he added, a thought occurring to him. “Where is he?” he asked of Gwen.

“Waiting downstairs,” Gwen informed him, frogmarching the other teenager out of the room and down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, Jack was waiting for them with Owen. “Finally!” Owen exclaimed, looking at his watch. “The party started half an hour ago, Jones!”

Ianto was about to reply, but then his eyes landed on Jack and he seemed to lose the ability to speak. Jack was dressed as an airplane pilot. Ianto thought he had never looked as attractive – unless he was naked.

Gwen grinned and looked up at Ianto’s stunned expression with a knowing look. “I think this is a day for the history books,” she murmured, chuckling to herself. “Ianto Jones is speechless.”

The sound of her voice snapped him out of his gaze and he blinked, finally tearing his eyes away from Jack and glaring at Gwen. “Shut up,” he muttered, moving away from the steps and heading over to Jack. “Screw sleeping with Gwen, I’m taking the Captain to bed,” he stated, kissing Jack passionately, despite Owen’s retching.

Jack kissed him back for a moment before pulling back with a frown on his face. “Wait, sleeping with Gwen?” he repeated, throwing Ianto an incredulous look. “Did I miss something?”

Ianto rolled his eyes and shushed his boyfriend. “Don’t ask,” he instructed. “Why have you been keeping this costume so secret for weeks?” he asked, running a hand down Jack’s chest, tracing the golden buttons with his fingertips.

Jack grinned widely. “Because I knew what reaction I’d get from you,” he murmured in Ianto’s ear, his voice too low for anyone else to hear.

Ianto snorted with laugher and nodded his head in agreement. “Where are Tosh and Suzie?” he asked, looking over at Gwen who was talking to Owen.

“Waiting for us in the dining room,” Gwen stated, turning to face the couple. “We were waiting for you,” she added.

“Who knew dressing like a butler could take so bloody long,” Owen commented, rolling his eyes at the pair of them.

Ianto sighed and looked toward the door leading out of Torchwood Three. “I suppose we’d better get on with this,” he muttered. “The sooner we get there, the sooner I can leave.”

Jack rolled his eyes and placed his hand in Ianto’s, dragging him out of the house and heading for the main Torchwood building. “You’ll enjoy yourself when we get there,” he swore.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I was you,” Ianto stated, trying unsuccessfully to pull his grip from Jack’s, before admitting defeat and allowing himself to be dragged along.


	10. Chapter 10

An hour later and Ianto had to admit that he was actually having a good time. The dining room of the school had been decked out with more Halloween decorations than Ianto could ever remember seeing. The large tables had been replaced with several smaller ones – although there weren’t enough to seat everyone – and a dance floor had been created at the front of the room.

Ianto had never heard of the band they had booked but Owen, who was into Indie music, seemed almost giddy when Yvonne – dressed as a very regal Queen of Hearts – announced them. Even though he wasn’t very interested in them, Ianto had to admit that, after several glasses of coke (that his boyfriend and Owen had added Jack Daniels to) they didn’t seem as bad as he’d originally thought.

“Do you want to dance?” Gwen murmured, slurring her words a little as she draped her arms around Ianto’s neck.

Ianto winced a little at the strength of her grip and tried to pry her hands off of him. “Don’t you think you should sit this one out?” he tried to suggest gently. Gwen had been dancing like a mad woman for ages, and her face was flushed with exertion. 

Gwen pouted and staggered back a few steps, falling into a newly vacated seat at the table behind them. “You’re such a spoilsport,” she muttered, reaching for a glass and almost knocking several others over in the process.

Ianto lunged forward before Gwen could do too much damage and pulled her to her feet. “Come on,” he instructed, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, while he placed his own around Gwen’s waist. “Let’s go get some fresh air.”

Slowly they made their way across the room, Ianto grabbing a bottle of water off the makeshift bar as he passed. “Why aren’t you drunk?” Gwen demanded, leaning heavily on the other Welsh teenager as he pushed the door open.

Ianto rolled his eyes, steering Gwen out into the grounds. “Because, unlike you, I can hold my alcohol,” he stated, leading her over to a low wall nearby. “Sit down,” he instructed, forcing her onto the wall.

He unscrewed the lid on the water and handed the bottle to her. “No, thanks,” she murmured, trying to push the bottle away from her.

Ianto glared at her and pushed the bottle into her hand. “Trust me,” he instructed. “You need to keep hydrated,” he added, smiling encouragingly at her as she took a small sip. “Plus,” he continued, “fresh air feels nice considering how warm it is in there.” He nodded back to the manor house.

As Gwen drank, Ianto reached into his pocket and pulled out his cigarettes, putting one to his lips and shoving the packet back into his jacket.

“What are you doing?” Gwen hissed, seeing his actions and looking around in alarm. “You’re going to get caught!”

Ianto laughed and shook his head. “I’ve been trying to get kicked out of this school for years,” he stated, using his powers to light the cigarette. “Hartman has caught me smoking more times than I can remember. She’s not going to kick me out for it now.”

Behind them, the doors opened and music spilled out, disturbing the quiet night. “I was wondering where you two had gone,” Jack’s voice stated as the American closed the door behind him.

Ianto grinned and took a long drag of the cigarette, before extinguishing it; while Jack hadn’t made any more requests for him to quit, Ianto could sense that his boyfriend didn’t like Ianto smoking around him.

“I’m surprised you noticed we’d left,” Ianto commented, placing his hands on Jack’s hips the instant he was in reach and pulling him closer. “You’ve been surrounded by teenage girls fawning over you all evening.”

Jack smiled and shrugged his shoulders; he wasn’t even going to try arguing with Ianto – he was right, after all. “What’s wrong with her?” Jack asked, looking over at Gwen. The young woman was busy drinking the entire bottle of water that Ianto had given her.

“Too much blood in her alcohol system,” Ianto stated, earning himself a glare from Gwen. “You’re just jealous that I can hold my drink better than you can,” he told the young woman.

“Fuck off,” Gwen muttered, drinking the last of the water and throwing the bottle to the ground at her feet.

Jack clucked his tongue in disapproval. “Language,” he chided, earning himself a flick of Gwen’s middle finger. 

The door behind them opened again and Ianto rolled his eyes. “We came out here for some peace and quiet, and half the bleeding school’s doing the same thing!” he exclaimed in annoyance.

Jack turned to face the house and felt all the oxygen leave his lungs when he saw the figure that has just exited the school - a very sexy batgirl. “Wow,” Jack murmured, running his eyes up her long legs.

“I know what you’re thinking, Mr Harkness,” a very familiar voice commented. “And you can stop it right now.”

Ianto looked at his boyfriend with an amused expression, before bursting out laughing when he saw that Jack’s cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. “You were checking her out,” he accused.

“No, I wasn’t,” Jack muttered, trying to stop himself from blushing even deeper as Alicia moved closer to them. “I didn’t know it was her!” he added, jabbing his finger towards her.

Alicia laughed and moved over to them. “Are you okay, Miss Cooper?” she asked, placing a hand on the back of Gwen’s clammy forehead.

Gwen nodded her head weakly, trying not to look her in the eye as she replied, “Just needed some fresh air.”

Alicia raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Jack questioningly. The American teenager refused to look at her and the teacher rolled her eyes. “You two are going to get yourself in trouble one of these days,” she stated, seeing what Jack and Owen did to their drinks. “Tell me you didn’t give anyone else any,” she pleaded.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Give us a little bit of credit, Alicia,” he muttered. “Why would we waste perfectly good alcohol on the rest of this school?”

“Where have you been all night?” Ianto asked, trying to remember if he had seen her earlier in the evening.

Alicia grimaced a little. “Hiding,” she confessed. “Don’t laugh!” she exclaimed when the teenagers did just that. “You’re not a telepath; you don’t know what it’s like. Blocking this many people out can be a struggle at the best of times, when they’re all giddy and hyper – not to mention, drunk,” she added, her gaze flickering down to Gwen. “It’s practically impossible. Ianto, Miss Cooper,” she pointed to the young Welsh teenager.

Ianto followed Alicia’s gaze and quickly ducked down, catching Gwen before she could slide off the wall. 

“Maybe you should get her to bed?” Alicia suggested, glancing at her watch. “I know it’s still early but I don’t think Miss Cooper is going to last much longer.”

Ianto grinned widely and hauled Gwen to her feet. “I love you, Gwen,” he informed her.

Alicia looked at Jack in confusion and the American rolled his eyes. “He didn’t even want to come to the party in the first place,” Jack informed Alicia. “You’ve just given him a legitimate reason to leave early.”

Jack turned to Ianto, who was glaring at him a little. “I’m going to tell Owen we’re leaving,” he murmured.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Alicia argued with a small shake of her head. Her attention seemed to drift off for a few seconds, before she refocused on them once more. “I think Mr Harper is a little pre-occupied at the moment,” she stated, a small smile spreading across her face.

Jack frowned and brushed past her to look through the glass in the door. “Whoa!” he exclaimed. “That’s something I never thought I’d see,” he stated, turning back at looking at his boyfriend with a surprised expression on his face. “Owen’s dancing with Tosh,” he informed Ianto.

The Welsh teenager’s jaw dropped open in shock. “What?” he exclaimed, disturbing Gwen a little at the volume of his voice. 

Jack laughed and nodded. “I know. I would have never have put them two together,” he confessed.

Alicia chuckled to herself and pulled the door open to the house – unfortunately she, unlike Jack and Ianto, couldn’t leave the party early because Yvonne had roped her into being a chaperone. “Good night, boys,” she murmured, offering them a smile. “Night, Miss Cooper,” she added, glancing at Gwen who was barely being held up by Ianto.

Sleepily Gwen waved back at her, before she disappeared back into the house.

x

Ianto successfully managed to get Gwen in bed, before he returned to his own room to find Jack standing by the open window, still in full costume.

“I would have thought you’d gotten changed,” Ianto commented, closing the door behind him and locking it – he had a list of things he wanted to do to Jack while he was wearing that uniform, he wasn’t going to let any one interrupt them this time.

Jack smiled and turned around to face him, leaning back on the windowsill. “I’m not ready for tonight to end,” he shrugged. 

Ianto reached for one of the beer bottles that were lying on Jack’s bed. “Where did you find these?” he asked, using the bottle opener to pop the cap off.

“Got them when me and Owen bought the JD,” Jack replied, taking a drink and looking back out of the window.

Ianto crossed the room and leant next to him, looking out over the school grounds. Their room was facing the main Torchwood building and, with the window open, they could still hear the low hum of music coming from the dining room.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked softly, looking at Ianto out of the corner of his eye.

The Welsh teenager frowned and turned to face Jack. “Of course I am,” he retorted. “Why?”

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Just…” He frowned deeply, contemplating how to word his thoughts. “Have you felt anyone watching you?” he eventually asked.

“Ah,” Ianto murmured, his eyes turning back to the grounds below their window. “Not since we played rugby,” he whispered, not looking back at Jack.

“Don’t lie to me, Ianto,” Jack ordered, placing a cold hand on Ianto’s shoulder, turning him back to face him. “Have you felt anything?” he demanded. “Look me in the eye and tell me the truth.”

Ianto sighed and lifted his eyes to meet Jack’s own blue gaze. “I haven’t felt anything,” he stated, not looking away from the American’s eyes.

Jack sighed and rested his forehead against Ianto’s. “Sorry,” he whispered, kissing him softly. “I’m just…”

Ianto lifted his hand and placed a finger over Jack’s lips, silencing him. “I know,” he assured him. “Come on,” he added, closing the window and dragging his boyfriend over to the bed. “I’m going to show you what I’ve got planned for you, Captain,” he added as he pushed Jack onto the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Three weeks had passed since Ianto’s mad dash into the forest, and the Welsh teenager hadn’t mentioned feeling like he was being watched. Jack had almost forgotten about the day in the woods. What he didn’t know was that his boyfriend hadn’t told him the entire truth whenever Jack asked if he’d noticed anyone watching.

Alicia was working them harder than ever. Even though she didn’t know about the unnerving feelings Ianto had experienced, she was determined that the teenagers were going to be able to protect themselves should anything bad happen. There was no way the young teacher would let Rhiannon’s vision come true.

Ianto groaned and ran a hand over his face, trying to suppress a yawn. Jack didn’t know it, but Ianto hadn’t been able to sleep properly for weeks. The Welsh teenager hadn’t said anything to his boyfriend; he had been pretending to fall asleep when Jack did, but he was spending hours each night, simply lying in the dark and staring up at the ceiling.

Ianto knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up the pretence any longer. He really needed to get some sleep before he passed out – his body was vehemently protest being kept awake more hours than it should be – but he couldn’t bring himself to let his guard down long enough to get more than a couple of hours at a time.

Across the room, Jack was trying to get a handle on his own powers; and failing miserably. While they had extra classes with Alicia in the evening a couple of times a week, the young teacher had them testing each other. And, while it had seemed like a good idea at the time, Ianto’s patience was starting to wear thin with Jack’s incapability at controlling his powers.

Jack heard Ianto’s groan and turned to face his boyfriend. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he regarded the Welsh teenager.

Ianto ran his hand over the back of his neck and looked up into Jack’s blue eyes. “I don’t see why I have to be here,” he stated softly, trying to not let his irritation seep into his voice.

Jack rolled his eyes. “You heard what Alicia said; we both need to learn how to control our powers.”

The Welsh teenager shifted in his seat. “You’ve seen my powers, Jack,” he pointed out. “I’ve been actively using them since I found out I could control fire. Controlling my powers isn’t a problem for me; it never has been. You, on the other hand…” He indicated to the ice at Jack’s feet where it had dropped the instant the American had lost concentration; shattering on impact.

Jack glared at him. “You’re not perfect, you know,” he stated, folding his arms across his chest defensively. “I’ve seen you lose control a few times, these past few weeks.”

Ianto rolled his eyes, suppressing another yawn. “I can control them better than you can. And I don’t have to be pissed off to do it,” he added icily - the tiredness of his brain making him snappier than usual. “You’re no closer to being in control than you were a month ago.” 

“Excuse me,” Jack snapped. “I have got so much more control than I had then.”

Ianto raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. “Then show me,” he challenged. “Make me one of those manor houses that you made the night you showed me your powers. You were in control that day; you even had curtains in the windows of the school, for fuck’s sake, Jack.”

Jack remained still and Ianto chuckled darkly. “You can’t do it again, can you?” he demanded.

“I don’t have to prove myself to you,” Jack muttered stubbornly, his arms still firmly folded across his chest.

Ianto rolled his eyes and lifted his hand. Two seconds later, a thin sliver of fire appeared in mid air and began to circle around Jack, about two feet away from his body.

“Stop that!” Jack instructed, watching the fire around him. It didn’t hurt – both Jack and Ianto had figured out that they couldn’t actually hurt each other with their powers. 

Ianto shrugged his shoulders. “Why should I? It doesn’t bother me, you do it if it’s winding you up that much,” Ianto instructed, leaning back and looking at Jack with a smirk on his face. “If you’re in control of your powers that much, then use them to stop me.”

“Ianto, just stop pratting about!” Jack shouted, still not making any attempt to use his powers.

Ianto sighed and, after a few more moments of annoying Jack, extinguished the flames surrounding his boyfriend. “If you don’t learn how to control your powers, you’re not going to be of use to any one.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Not going to be of any use,” he repeated. “And what is that supposed to mean?” he demanded.

“If you don’t learn to control your powers, you’re going to a danger to everyone,” Ianto said, trying to keep his voice even and calm.

Jack’s fists tightened until his knuckles went white. “Shut up,” he whispered menacingly; his eyes flashing, his voice low and quiet.

“I mean it, Jack,” Ianto said, getting to his feet and taking a step closer to his boyfriend. “You need to learn to control yourself. If you don’t you could really hurt someone, just like you…” he broke off, covering his mouth in horror as he realised what he’d just said.

Jack’s glare intensified. “Like I hurt Gray, you mean,” he stated, his voice cold and hard. “Like I killed him.”

Ianto shook his head. “No, Jack. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that like it sounded…”

“Yes, you did,” Jack argued. “You meant every word of it.” He took a step away from Ianto and turned back to the ice at his feet. He glared at it for a long moment, before he sighed and his shoulders slumped. He whispered something so quiet that Ianto couldn’t actually hear what he said.

“What?” Ianto asked, uncertainty lacing his voice; he really was too tired to get into an actual fight with his boyfriend.

Jack sighed and looked up, meeting Ianto’s gaze with his own. “I said, you’re right,” he repeated, with a sigh. “I can’t do it. I don’t know who I’m trying to kid.”

Ianto smiled sadly and moved closer, placing his hand on his boyfriend’s arm. “You can,” he argued, running his thumb over the inside of Jack’s wrist soothingly. “You just have to be pissed off to do it,” he added with a little chuckle. “Like you were that first night. All we have to do is make you mad.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “And how are you planning on doing that?” he demanded. “You don’t piss me off any more. You just annoy the hell out of me.”

Ianto bit his lip for a moment as he thought, before he winced a little and pushed his sleeve up to his elbow. “I’m really sorry about this,” he apologised. 

“Sorry about what?” Jack asked, just before he felt Ianto’s fist painfully connect with his jaw, knocking his head to the side. “What the fuck was that for?” he demanded, placing his hand on his face and hissing at the pain he felt in his jaw.

Ianto laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Just felt like it,” he muttered, turning his back on his boyfriend and heading back to the couch. He schooled his features to remain blank as he sat down and recreated the circle of fire around Jack’s ice-cold body.

“Ianto, stop it!” Jack shouted, glaring fiercely at Ianto. “Get rid of the fire, you bastard.”

The Welsh teenager laughed softly and shrugged his shoulders. “Make me,” he ordered, creating another ring of fire just below the first. Inside he found it amazing that Jack couldn’t actually feel the heat of the fire, despite how close the flames were; but on the outside he kept the blank face he needed to make his plan work.

“I mean it, Ianto!” Jack growled. Ianto didn’t listen and Jack could feel himself getting angrier and angrier. “Damn it, Ianto. Stop fucking about!”

Ianto shrugged his shoulders again and leant back, closing his eyes. The flames didn’t change and Jack felt jealousy grow inside him as he thought about how much control Ianto actually had.

Suddenly there was the sound of ice cracking, and the crackling of flames stopped. Ianto opened his eyes to see Jack surrounded by two rings of ice rather than fire. “See?” Ianto smirked, folding his arms across his chest. “I told you so. Now get rid of them,” he instructed.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “How am I supposed to do that?” he demanded. “I’m not pissed of any more. I’m annoyed that you hit me, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying I was pissed off.”

Ianto got to his feet and took a few steps closer. “Do you remember what that anger felt like when you created the ice?” he asked. Jack nodded. “Then focus on that feeling and you’ll be able to will the ice away.”

Jack shook his head. “I can’t,” he whispered, his eyes flickering closed as he tried his hardest to recreate that feeling. 

Ianto sighed and moved closer again. “Yes, you can,” he argued. “Look into my eyes,” he instructed.

The Americans eyes flickered open and he met Ianto’s gaze. Instantly they both gasped in surprise. “Your eyes,” they whispered in unison.

The ice that had been surrounding Jack shuddered and dropped to his feet, shattering into pieces, but neither teenager noticed; they were too “They’re filled with fire,” Jack whispered, taking a step closer to Ianto.

Surprise and fear crossed Ianto’s face as he murmured, “Just looking at your eyes is making me feel cold. They look like they’re filled with snow flakes.”

Jack brought a hand up, placing it on his boyfriend’s jaw and turning his head one way, then the other as he inspected his eyes. “Does it hurt?” he questioned, fear that Ianto was in pain lacing his voice.

Ianto shook his head. “Doesn’t feel any different from normal,” he stated. “What about you? Can you still see clearly?” he asked.

“Clear as always,” Jack assured him. “Are my eyes the same?” he asked.

Ianto nodded. “Okay this is really weird,” he murmured, finally blinking and breaking the eye contact he had with his boyfriend.

When he looked back at Jack, the American gasped in surprise. “They’ve gone back to normal,” Jack whispered.

Ianto frowned and stalked into the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. “What the fuck?” he exclaimed, leaning against the sink. “Jack, something isn’t right about this,” he stated, calling through to their bedroom.

Jack crossed the room and paused in the doorway. Ianto lifted his head and sighed when he looked Jack in the eye. “Yours are blue again,” he stated.

“We need to tell Alicia,” Jack informed Ianto, moving to stand behind his boyfriend. He placed his hands on Ianto’s hips and looking at their reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah,” Ianto breathed, placing his warm hands over Jack’s own cool ones. “Obviously this is something to do with our powers,” he added. 

“Haven’t they caused us enough trouble?” Jack growled in annoyance. “They want to add freaky eyes to the equation?” 

Ianto sighed and turned in Jack’s arms. “I don’t think this is going to cause us problems,” he whispered, lifting his hand and brushing Jack’s hair away from his forehead. “It doesn’t seem to affect our vision in anyway,” he stated. “But, I still think you’re right,” he continued. “We really need to tell Alicia.”

Jack nodded and pressed his lips against his boyfriend’s. “Should we go see her now?” he asked.

“Nah,” Ianto murmured, glancing back over his shoulder at his reflection, which was back to normal. “I don’t think it’s urgent. Neither of us were in pain; well, I wasn’t. Were you?” Jack shook his head and Ianto continued, “Then I think it can wait for another few days.”


	12. Chapter 12

Ianto’s plan about telling Alicia a couple of days later didn’t quite work out. He woke up on Monday morning and rolled over to face Jack. The American was still asleep, but his cheeks looked a little flushed.

“Jack,” Ianto murmured, reaching out and placing a hand on his boyfriends shoulder. He drew in a startled gasp when he felt the temperature of Jack’s skin. Instead of the usual soothing feeling he felt whenever he touched his boyfriend, he felt… different.

“Leave me alone,” Jack whined, his voice scratchy. He let out a pained cough and screwed his eyes close, trying to block out the light. “God, I feel like shit,” he muttered, pulling the quilt further around him. “And I’m cold.”

Ianto raised an eyebrow and placed his hand on Jack’s forehead. “You don’t feel cold to me,” he stated.

“So?” Jack muttered, rolling onto his side and pulling the covers over his head. 

The Welsh teenager rolled his eyes and pried the quilt away from Jack’s head. “I mean it, Jack,” he stated. “You don’t feel cold. At all.”

Jack cracked an eye open and looked at his boyfriend for a moment, before squeezing his eyes closed once more. “You feel warm,” he muttered, grabbing Ianto’s hand in his own and holding it tightly, trying to warm himself up.

Ianto winced and pulled his hand free from Jack’s death grip. “I’m going to get Gwen,” he stated, climbing out of bed and pulling on the jeans he had been wearing the previous day. “I won’t be…” he trailed off when he saw that Jack had fallen asleep again.

After quickly dressing, Ianto silently headed out of the room and moved down the corridor, and around the corner to where Gwen shared a room with Suzie.

Not even bothering to knock, he turned the handle and pushed the door open, entering the room. Suzie was standing in the door to the bathroom, fully dressed with a towel wrapped around her hair. “Is this revenge?” she demanded, pulling her toothbrush from her mouth so Ianto could understand what she was saying. “Just because she,” she nodded to Gwen, who was putting her trainers on, “bursts into your room, doesn’t mean you can do it to her.”

Ianto rolled his eyes and looked over at Gwen, who was looking at him questioningly. “Do you have a thermometer?” he asked.

Gwen raised an eyebrow before nodding slowly. “What on Earth do you want one of them for?” she questioned as Suzie vanished into the bathroom and returned carrying the requested item.

“I don’t think Jack’s well,” Ianto stated. 

Both girls frowned and exchanged concerned glances with each other. “Why do you think that?” Gwen asked, getting to her feet.

“He says he feels cold,” Ianto replied, throwing a meaningful look at them. “And he sounds like he’s taken up smoking,” he added.

“Okay,” Suzie murmured, holding the thermometer out to Ianto. “That’s not right.”

Ianto nodded. “That’s why I need one of you to come take his temperature for me,” he informed them. 

“Why can’t you do it yourself?” Gwen demanded.

The other Welsh teenager raised an eyebrow. “The instant I touch that,” he nodded to Suzie’s hand, “it’s going to explode.”

Gwen frowned in confusion before realisation dawned in her eyes. “Ah,” she murmured, taking the thermometer from Suzie. “Show me the patient then, Mr Jones,” she instructed, pushing him out of the room, Suzie following close behind as she towel dried her hair.

Jack was sleeping when they returned and Gwen had to shake him gently to wake him up enough to slide the thermometer between his lips. “He doesn’t feel cold at all,” Gwen whispered, looking over her shoulder at Ianto and Suzie.

“Told you!” Ianto hissed. 

Gwen reached forward and pulled the thermometer from Jack’s lips, the American not even protesting a little. “82.6,” she read, her eyes widening in surprise. “That’s…”

“As close to having a normal body temperature as he’s ever going to get,” Ianto finished for her. “He’s got a fever, hasn’t he?”

Gwen placed the thermometer back in it’s casing and slid it onto the bedside table. “Well, I’m not a doctor,” she answered. “But it seems like it.”

“Well, considering how cold he is normally, I’m assuming his temperature has gone up,” Suzie said. “If he were a normal person, I’d say his temperature would be over 100; that’d be enough to put anyone else in hospital.”

“What?” Ianto demanded, his face paling in terror at the thought of Jack being that ill.

Suzie held up her hands, trying to sooth the Welsh teenager. “Of course, that might be completely normal for Jack,” she stated. “It’s not like we know what his normal body temperature is…”

“75,” Jack croaked, grabbing their attention.

All of them turned to face him. “Is your body temperature really that low?” Gwen asked, surprise lacing her voice as she looked down at the American.

“You should be asleep,” Ianto chided as Jack nodded his head wearily. 

“How can I when you’re talking over me?” Jack muttered, pulling the quilt tighter around him.

Gwen stood up and took a step back, allowing Ianto to move closer to his boyfriend. “We’ll see you later,” she whispered, patting Jack on the shoulder before following Suzie out of the room. 

Ianto smiled and sat on the bed next to Jack. “How are you feeling?” he asked, reaching out and placing a hand on Jack’s forehead.

“Like shit,” Jack muttered, leaning into Ianto’s touch. “But you’re nice and warm,” he stated. “Do you have to leave?”

Ianto shook his head. “I’m not leaving you here when you’re not well, Jack,” he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss against Jack’s lips. 

“You shouldn’t kiss me,” Jack said, trying to turn his head away from Ianto’s. “You can’t stay here with me all day,” he added, wincing as he coughed painfully.

“Yes, I can,” Ianto argued, glaring a little at his boyfriend.

“No, you can’t,” Donna’s voice stated from the door.

Ianto lifted his head to look at her – Jack tried, but it hurt too much to move. “Why the hell not?” he demanded, the volume of his voice making Jack wince a little. 

Donna raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t argue with me, Mr Jones,” she instructed. “Shift it,” she added, pushing him away from Jack and taking his seat on the edge of the bed.

“Open wide, Mr Harkness,” she instructed, pulling the thermometer from its case and placing it in his mouth.

“Gwen already took my temperature,” Jack informed her, his voice muffled by the object in his mouth.

Donna ignored him and pulled the device from his lips and looked at the temperature. “83.1,” she read. “From what Miss Cooper just told me, your temperature’s gone up by 0.4 degrees. You’re going to the medical wing,” the redhead informed Jack.

“But, I don’t wanna…” Jack whined, letting out an annoyed noise when Donna pulled the covers from him. 

“Grab his dressing gown, Mr Jones,” Donna instructed, taking Jack’s hands in hers and pulling him into an upright position.

“I can do it myself,” Jack muttered. “You don’t have to manhandle me.”

Donna rolled her eyes and caught Jack before he could fall off the bed. “Yeah, because it looks that way,” she replied. “Can you help him?” she asked, looking over at Ianto.

The Welsh teenager nodded his head. “Come on,” he instructed, hauling Jack to his feet and placing an arm around his waist – despite Jack’s protests about him being fine.

“Stop complaining,” Donna ordered, holding the door open for Ianto. “You’re going to get checked out, whether you like it or not.”

Slowly they made their way through the school – thankfully, most of the students were in class, so none of them saw Ianto practically carrying Jack – and arrived in the Medical wing of the school.

“You smell nice,” Jack purred, resting his head on Ianto’s shoulder and trying to lick his neck. 

Ianto rolled his eyes and pulled Jack’s head away from his shoulder. “Stop it,” he instructed, glaring at the others when they laughed; Jack was a dead man as soon as he was feeling better.

Donna pushed open the double doors that would lead into the Medical wing. “Martha!” she called through the Nurse’s open office door. “I’ve got a patient for you.”

Inside the office, they could see Martha glancing at her watch and frowning deeply. “Already?” she asked, getting up from her seat and leaving the office.

As soon as she saw Jack being supported by Ianto, her eyes widened; the American was never sick enough to warrant a visit to her. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked, knowing that it must be something big for Donna to bring Jack to the Medical wing.

“He’s got a temperature of 83.1, last time I took it; which was about ten minutes ago,” Donna informed her, helping Ianto lie Jack down on a nearby bed.

Martha whistled softly. “That’s over 8 degrees more than he should be,” she stated. Every teacher in the school knew that Jack’s body temperature should be around 75 degrees, while Ianto’s average temperature was about 120.

“That’s why I brought him here, Martha,” Donna said, smiling at her as she nodded her head. “Okay, Miss Cooper,” she turned to face Gwen, “thank you for letting me know Jack wasn’t well, but you should go to class now.”

Gwen looked as though she were about to burst into tears. “But, Miss Noble,” she began.

Donna shook her head, cutting her off. “Not buts. I know most of your lessons are the same as Ianto’s; please let your teachers know where he is. I’ll arrange for Jack’s teachers to be told myself.” She knew without even looking at Ianto that he wouldn’t leave Jack’s side for anything short of the apocalypse.

Gwen scowled and folded her arms across her chest, glaring at Donna before she finally nodded her head. “Get well soon, Jack,” she whispered, bending down and pressing a kiss against the American’s forehead; at some point he had managed to fall asleep again.

“What do you think it is?” Donna asked, regarding Martha as he continued studying Jack.

“Well,” Martha began, standing upright, “I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about,” she assured Ianto, who immediately relaxed slightly. “Jack doesn’t seem to have anything more than a viral infection. A few days rest and a course of anti-virals should fix him up.”

Ianto sighed with relief and slumped back into his seat. “Are you keeping him in here?” he asked, looking up at the Nurse.

Martha nodded. “Just until he’s feeling better. He needs to rest and… if I remember correctly, the houses are pretty hectic,” she added, flashing him a smile. “I’ll go get him started on Anti-virals,” she said, crossing the room and heading into her office to where she kept the medication locked away.

Donna smiled and looked down at Ianto, who was running his hand over the back of his boyfriend’s hand. “Take care of him, Mr Jones,” she instructed. “I’ll be back to check on him in a few hours.”

Ianto didn’t even answer her as she left the room; all his attention was focused on his sick boyfriend.


	13. Chapter 13

Martha stood in the doorway of the medical ward and smiled sadly. Ianto had been sat at Jack’s bedside the whole day; he’d only left to use the bathroom and change into the clothes Gwen had brought from his room.

A few hours earlier, Martha had finally succumbed to the pity she had been feeling all day, and suggested that Ianto try get some sleep – since Jack was clearly out of it.

Ianto had tried arguing but, in the end, Martha had won the battle and Ianto had agreed to go to bed. What she hadn’t been expecting was for him to climb into the bed beside Jack.

She had been checking on Jack periodically through the night; and, each time she did, Ianto had been wide-awake. It was only on the last check-up that the Welsh teenager had succumbed to exhaustion.

Martha looked at her watch and sighed to herself; it was nearly time for Ianto to wake up and go to classes, but she didn’t want to disturb him. Turning on her heel and leaving the room, she decided that she would send an email to Donna and excuse him from his morning lessons, at least.

x

Ianto blinked and groaned softly as he looked around trying to remember when he had fallen asleep. He remembered Martha coming in to check on Jack in the middle night and then… nothing. For a moment he wondered if she had slipped him something to help him sleep. But he dismissed that idea almost immediately; Martha was the only teacher – other than Alicia – who was cool enough to let you call her by her first name. She wouldn’t do that.

He slowly untangled himself from Jack’s body, noting with some relief that he felt cooler than he had the day before; Martha had told him the day before that if Jack were anyone else, they would be worried about Jack’s temperature being so low – and Ianto’s being so high – but something about their powers, seemed to make their bodies capable of dealing with such extreme temperatures.

Ianto yawned and ran a hand over his face, trying to rid himself of the remaining cobwebs of sleep. “Morning sleeping beauty,” Martha’s amused voice said from across the room.

The Welsh teenager turned his head and looked at the Nurse. “What time is it?” he murmured, grimacing at the taste in his mouth.

“Nine-thirty,” Martha replied after consulting her watch. “Easy,” she instructed when Ianto tried to jump off the bed in shock.

“I’m late for class,” Ianto stated. “It’s Tuesday, which means I’ve got Miss Noble; she’s going to murder me.”

Martha chuckled and shook her head. “She won’t,” she assured him. “I emailed her this morning and excused you from your lessons.” Ianto threw her a surprised look and she smiled, “You’re exhausted, Ianto.”

“No, I’m not,” Ianto lied, trying to not divert his eyes from hers.

The nurse clucked her tongue and glared at him. “Don’t lie to me, Ianto,” she ordered. “I can tell when a student is exhausted. You were up all day yesterday; you only went to sleep because you passed out. Is there something wrong?” she asked, the tone of her voice softening as she placed a hand on Ianto’s shoulder.

Ianto hesitated, before sighing and closing his eyes. “I’ve just been finding it difficult to sleep,” he confessed.

Martha frowned deeply. “Is there something specific keeping you awake?” she questioned, trying to think of what she could suggest to help Ianto.

He shrugged his shoulders and suppressed a yawn. “I don’t know,” he whispered, his eyes fluttering closed momentarily. “Random bout of insomnia?” he suggested, forcing his eyes open and looking up at Martha.

The nurse clucked her tongue and shook her head. “How long has it been going on for?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and looking down at the Welsh teenager.

“Couple of days,” Ianto stated, somehow managing to not look guilty.

She looked down into his eyes and asked, “Are you lying to me?”

“No,” Ianto assured her.

Martha looked at him for a long moment, before sighing and smoothing her blouse down. “I want you to lay off the chocolate and caffeine for a few weeks,” she informed him. “See if that has any effect. Also, don’t eat before you go to bed and try to go to sleep at a reasonable time.”

She glanced over at Jack, who still appeared to be sleeping. “And only use the bed for sleep,” she added, smirking at Ianto.

“Try telling that to him,” Ianto told her, nodding over to Jack. “He doesn’t know the meaning of ‘keep your hands to yourself’.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Jack’s tired voice croaked form the bed beside Ianto.

Ianto snorted and turned to look at his boyfriend. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he stated, glaring lightly at the American.

Jack rolled his eyes and licked his lips, wincing when he felt how dry they were. “I’ve sleeping pretty much constantly for over a day,” he whispered. “Can I have a drink?” he asked.

Martha nodded her head and flashed the American a soft smile, before leaving the room to get him a drink.

“How are you feeling?” Ianto asked quietly, running his hand over Jack’s forehead. “You feel cooler,” he informed his boyfriend.

Jack smiled and shifted closer to Ianto. “That’s good,” he murmured. Despite his claims that he wasn’t tired any more, his eyes fluttered closed as he rested his head on Ianto’s chest.

When Martha returned with a bottle of water, she stopped in the doorway to the room and smiled when she saw that Jack was asleep again. “I thought he said he wasn’t tired,” she whispered, placing the bottle on the bedside table and patting Ianto on the shoulder. “You should try get some rest,” she informed him. “You’ve only been excused from classes until after lunch.”

Ianto groaned. “That’s not fair. Can’t you tell them I’m sick as well?” he requested. Martha shook her head and he added, “Please?”

The nurse rolled her eyes and firmly told him, “You’re going to class this afternoon, Ianto,” before heading towards her office.


	14. Chapter 14

Ianto managed to get through the afternoon with minimal trouble – if he didn’t include all of Jack’s friends asking after him every time they saw him in the room.

As the afternoon progressed, Ianto began to find it harder and harder to pay attention to what the teachers were actually saying.

By the time he got to his final period, his attention was completely non-existent and he knew that if he had any teacher other than Alicia, he’d be in detention for sure.

“How’s Jack doing?” Alicia asked suddenly, cutting through Ianto’s thoughts.

Ianto blinked in surprise and looked up, meeting Alicia’s eyes with his own. He was shocked when he realised that the classroom had emptied. “He’s sleeping mostly,” Ianto told her. “Until he’s eavesdropping on conversations he’s not part of.” 

He thought about his earlier conversation with Martha, and Alicia chuckled. “You’re not shielding your thoughts at all, Ianto,” she informed him.

The Welsh teenager blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry,” he whispered, looking down at the desk in front of him.

Alicia shook her head and patted him on the arm. “It’s okay,” she assured Ianto. “You’ve got a lot on your mind with Jack being ill. He’s got a lot of ‘get well soon’ cards,” she added, recalling the room she had seen in Ianto’s mind. “Someone’s popular.”

“I know!” Ianto chuckled, rolling his eyes a little. “I don’t even know where people got them from,” he confessed. “It’s not like we’ve got a gift shop in the school…” He paused and frowned deeply, “We don’t, do we?”

Alicia laughed and shook her head. “If we do, I’ve never seen it,” she replied. “Are the anti-virals working?”

Ianto shrugged his shoulders. “They seem to be,” he answered. “Jack feels cooler at any rate.”

“That’s a good sign,” Alicia smiled, knowing that Jack’s temperature dropping was definitely a sign that he was getting better.

“I suppose,” Ianto muttered. “I think I prefer him better when he’s asleep. He doesn’t annoy me as much; unless he’s snoring.” Ianto yawned widely, rolling his eyes at himself as well. “Damn it,” he muttered, glaring at nothing in particular.

The young teacher frowned. “Have you been sleeping?” she asked. “And by sleeping, I mean literally sleeping,” she added. “I already know far more about yours and Jack’s love life than I need to.”

The Welsh teenager laughed and rolled his eyes. “I have been sleeping – literal sleeping,” he assured her. “I’m just…” He sighed, “Martha’s given me orders; I’m not allowed chocolate ot caffeine, and I’m not allowed to have sex either.”

Alicia laughed and raised an eyebrow. “She actually said you’re not allowed to have sex?” she questioned. 

“Well, she didn’t specifically say I’m not allowed,” Ianto corrected himself. “She told me to use the bed for sleeping. Which just means we’re going to have to get creative,” he added, smirking up at Alicia.

“I didn’t need to know that, Ianto,” Alicia sighed, glaring down at him; although, the corners of her mouth did turn up in a small smile. “Maybe we should leave the lessons alone for a few weeks,” she offered, placing a hand on Ianto’s shoulder. “If you’re getting tired it might be because you’re trying to do too much stuff.”

“No!” Ianto cried, surprising her. “I’m not going to let Rhia’s vision come true. Her and the kids are the only real family I have,” he added quietly, “I’ve got to be able to protect myself for them.”

The young woman smiled and pulled him to his feet, hugging him tightly. “Don’t forget Jack,” she reminded him. “I’ve seen you two together; he’s just as much family as Rhiannon is. Possibly even more.”

Ianto smiled at the mention of his boyfriend and glanced at his watch. He had a feeling that Martha wouldn’t let him stay in the medical wing with the American two nights in a row, but he could still visit him for a few hours before he got kicked out. 

Alicia saw the action and smiled. “You should be with Jack,” she told him, patting him on back. 

Ianto smiled thankfully at her and nodded his head, his blue eyes flickering closed for a moment. 

“Go on,” Alicia instructed, nudging him when he looked as though he had actually fallen asleep on his feet. “Go see Jack and then go straight to bed.”

Slowly the teenager’s eyes flickered open and he looked over at Alicia. “I don’t think he’ll be in there for much longer. He seems to be getting-,” He trailed off when she drew in a startled gasp. “What?” he demanded. “What’s wrong?”

“Ianto,” she whispered with a small shake of her head. “Your eyes…”

“They’ve done it again?” Ianto scowled. “I was hoping it was just a one off.”

Alicia raised an eyebrow and moved so she was sitting on the desk opposite Ianto. “It’s happened before?” she demanded, folding her arms over her chest.

“Once,” Ianto replied. “On Friday when Jack and I were training.”

“Did Jack’s do the same?” Alicia asked, concern lacing her voice. 

Ianto nodded. “Well, they were filled with snow rather than fire but yeah, the same thing happened.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, trying to not let her anger seep into her voice. “I supposed to help you with your powers; I can’t do that when you don’t tell me if something changes.”

The Welsh teenager had the decency to look abashed before he straightened up and glared at her. “It was late when we noticed it. We were going to tell you yesterday, but then Jack got sick and I forgot.”

Alicia sighed and drummed her fingers on the desk as she thought. “Your eyes have gone back to normal,” she stated, looking back at Ianto and seeing his blue eyes, rather than the flame filled orbs she had seen earlier.

“Yeah, that happened on Friday,” Ianto said, shrugging his shoulders a little.

“Clearly this is tied to your powers,” Alicia surmised. “What did you do on Friday, just before your eyes changed?” she asked.

“I punched Jack,” Ianto answered. 

Alicia’s eyes widened in surprise at Ianto’s statement. “You punched your boyfriend?” she exclaimed.

Ianto laughed and shrugged his shoulders again. “He’s hit me before; it’s only fair.”

“Why did you hit him?” Alicia asked wearily, quirking a questioning eyebrow.

Ianto took a deep breath and explained all about what had happened on Friday evening, Alicia listening intently all along.

“And it doesn’t hurt either of you?” she pressed when Ianto had finished his explanation.

Ianto shook his head. “I can’t feel a thing, and Jack said he didn’t either.”

He yawned widely, making Alicia glance at her watch. “This can wait. Go see Jack,” she instructed, pulling him to his feet and pushing him towards the door. “He’ll be wondering where you are. The three of us will talk when he’s well.”

The Welsh teenager nodded his head and smiled at her. “Night, Alicia,” he murmured. He glanced at his watch as his pulled the door open; he’d still have at least an hour to visit Jack, before Martha’d boot him out. 

As he thought of Jack, he couldn’t help the thought that flickered through his mind, ‘I wonder if it happens during sex.’ 

Behind him he heard a groan, followed by a light growl. “I thought we agreed to keep the unnecessary images to a minimum, Mr Jones?”

Ianto just laughed and walked out of the room, letting the door fall closed behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

Ianto’s first Christmas card arrived on 1st December, much to his surprise. 

Jack rolled onto his side and rested his head on his hand as he looked at him. “Who’s that from?” he asked, watching him sit down at the desk.

“I’ve only just got it from the post box, Jack,” he retorted, flipping the envelope over and tearing it open. 

He pulled a Christmas card out and flipped it over. His breath caught in his throat when he read the embossed words on the front of the card - ‘Brother and his boyfriend’. 

Jack frowned and pushed himself into an upright position when he saw Ianto fighting to control his emotions. “It’s a Christmas card,” he stated. “It can’t be that bad.”

Ianto blinked, the sound of Jack’s voice snapping him out of his daze. “It’s not bad at all,” he finally murmured. He leant forward and threw the card across the room at his boyfriend. “It’s from Rhiannon,” he added. 

He pulled out another card, which turned out to be hand-made. He flipped it open and smiled when he saw it was signed by Jamie and Annie – his nephew and niece.

“That was nice of her,” Jack commented, sliding off his bed and moving over to Ianto’s. He placed the card on Ianto’s bedside table before he flopped down next to Ianto. “Is that from Jamie and Annie?” he asked, leaning his head against Ianto’s arm and looking down at the card.

Ianto nodded his head and ducked his head, pressing a kiss against Jack’s hair; surprising himself for a second; however, Jack didn’t even react. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Did you read Rhia’s message?” he asked, closing the card in his hands and placing it on the bed.

“I did,” Jack confirmed, turning his head and burying his face in the crook of Ianto’s hand. “Are you going?”

“She was inviting us both, Jack,” Ianto pointed out. He reached over and grabbed the card, re-reading Rhiannon’s Christmas invitation to both him and his boyfriend.

Jack shrugged his shoulders a little. “I know that,” he whispered. “You should go.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” Ianto scoffed, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend.

The American rolled onto his back and looked up at Ianto. “They’re your family, Ianto,” he pointed out. “You haven’t spent Christmas with your sister for over ten years. You’re going to see her and the kids; you’ve got to.”

Ianto glanced down at Jack, who had moved his head into the Welsh teenager’s lap. “What about you?” he murmured, running his fingers through Jack’s soft brown hair.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll do the same thing I do every year; stay here.”

“But…” Ianto started, but Jack shook his head.

“I mean it, Ianto,” Jack assured him, leaning up and pressing his lips softly against Ianto’s, silencing the young man with a kiss. “I’ll be fine. I’ll even take you to the train station.”

Ianto still looked unconvinced and Jack sighed, rolling his eyes. “I mean it, Ianto. You’re spending Christmas with Rhiannon and the kids; I won’t die without you here.”

The Welsh teenager threw Jack and slightly abashed smile, before kissing him. “Thank you,” he whispered, running his hand through Jack’s hair before deepening the kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Ianto asked, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he looked over at Jack.

It was three days before Christmas and Jack was driving Ianto the train station a few miles away from the school; Rhiannon was meeting him on the other end, so he wouldn’t have to get to her house on his own.

At Ianto’s question, the American’s eyes flickered from the road ahead of them to him before he looked back. “Of course I’ll be okay,” he replied, reaching over and placing his hand on Ianto’s thigh. “I’ve already told you loads of times. You’re not going to be gone for long; it’s barely two weeks,” he added, squeezing Ianto’s leg to assure him. “It’s not the first time I’ve been alone,” he repeated what seemed to have become his mantra over the past couple of weeks.

“It is since we’ve been going out with each other,” Ianto retorted, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Jack stubbornly.

Jack rolled his eyes and was about to retort when Ianto’s phone began to ring, making both of them jump. “What does she want now?” he sighed, leaning forward and plucking the phone from where he had stuffed it in Jack’s glove compartment.

“Fuck,” Ianto swore, looking at the screen.

“What?” Jack asked, taking his eyes away from the road again. Ianto pointed silently out the windshield and Jack obediently turned his attention back to driving. “I’m assuming that’s not Rhiannon,” he added, turning down the road that would take them to the train station.

“No. Hold on a minute,” Ianto said, finally connecting the call and silencing the ring tone. “Mam,” he greeted, holding the phone to his ear. “Yes, I know I’m not coming home for Christmas.” He paused. “No, I’ve already told you, I’m spending it in the village with my friend.” Another pause. “No, he’s American and doesn’t go home for the holidays. Look Mam, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you whenever. Bye.”

Jack laughed as Ianto cancelled the call and threw the phone into the glove compartment. “Aww, I didn’t know I was your friend,” he mocked, earning him a punch in the arm.

“She doesn’t know that I’m Bi,” Ianto confessed. “I’m saving that piece of news for when I can tell her in person. I want to see her faint and crack her head on that desk she loves so much.” He cackled rather evilly, making Jack frown.

“Okay, you scare me sometimes,” he muttered, screeching the car to a stop and throwing on the hand brake. 

“Only ‘sometimes’? Damn, note to self, must try harder.” Ianto sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck. “I haven’t even told her about Rhiannon,” he confessed. “That’s going to be a fun conversation.”

He shook his head, dragging himself out of his melancholy musings. He unfastened his seatbelt and turned in his seat to face Jack. Silently he leant forward, sliding his hand around the back of Jack’s head and kissing him softly. It wasn’t long before one of them, Ianto wasn’t sure which, deepened the kiss and Ianto could feel Jack’s tongue in his mouth.

“Jack,” he murmured against the American’s lips, nowhere near ready to release him. “My train is in half an hour,” he added, even as he tightened his grip on Jack’s hair and pulled him closer.

“So?” Jack replied, leaning forward a little and kissing Ianto deeper. “That’s plenty of time.”

Jack’s hand, which was still resting on Ianto’s thigh, moved higher and brushed his fingers over the bulge of Ianto’s crotch. Ianto moaned at the contact and canted his hips upward, trying to invite Jack’s wandering hand to do more than tease.

The sound of a car horn beeping loudly threw them back to reality, just as Jack’s fingers were about to unfasten Ianto’s zip. They finally broke apart, gasping for air and looked around them to see what the interruption had been caused by.

Nearby an Indian taxi driver had gotten out of his car and was shouting at another a few feet in a foreign language. Ianto presumed he must have gotten in his way when he had been reversing.

“God,” Ianto breathed, leaning his head against the back of the seat. “I forgot we were in public.”

Jack laughed and leant closer again, nuzzling Ianto’s neck for a second and placing a soft kiss just below the Welsh teenager’s ear. “Don’t tell me you’re against sex in public places,” he murmured. “I may have to dump you for that.”

Ianto rolled his eyes and snorted with laughter. “We have sex in our room, don’t we? That’s about as public a place as here.” He looked around the station, before turning his eyes to the clock on the dashboard. “Shit!” he swore, seeing that he only had a little over ten minutes to catch his train. “I’m going to miss it.”

Jack smiled and kissed him softly, actually surprising Ianto by how soft he was being, before pulling back. “Go,” he instructed with a wave of his hand. “I’ll be fine.”

Ianto frowned and opened the door, half getting out before turning back and kissing Jack passionately. “I’ll call you tonight,” he whispered, running his hand down his boyfriend’s cheek before climbing out.


	17. Chapter 17

Rhiannon grinned and hugged her baby brother when she finally got to the station. Ianto had been waiting for almost fifteen minutes outside the train station and he had been getting slightly worried that he would have to get a taxi through a city he didn’t know.

“Sorry I’m late,” she breathed, squeezing him painfully before releasing him and moving to grab his bag from where he had dumped it at his feet. 

Ianto shook his head and picked the bag up before she had chance. “I’ve got it,” he assured her, throwing it over his shoulder and following her to the black car on the other side of the car park. “I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind about me coming,” he commented, placing the bag in the boot when she opened it.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. “I had to go to the supermarket to pick up a few bits this morning,” she explained. “The queue was massive and then it took me ages to get out of the car park…” She sighed and shook her head. “You know I wouldn’t have changed my mind,” she scoffed. “Although, you are missing someone.”

Ianto sighed and leant his head against the window. “Yeah, I know,” he murmured, his mind going to Jack who was probably sitting at the school, browsing the internet alone because all of his friends had gone home for the holidays. “I tried. But he was adamant that he didn’t mind being alone. He’s a stubborn bastard when he wants to be.”

“Didn’t mind, my arse!” Rhiannon exclaimed, pulling the car to a stop in front of the cutest house Ianto had ever seen. “I’m not having my brother’s boyfriend spending Christmas alone. He drives, right?” Ianto nodded his head. “Good, the next time you talk to him, tell him to get his American arse down here, or I’ll castrate him myself.”

Ianto’s eyes widened at her orders. “You’ll… Castrate, him?” he laughed and Rhiannon nodded her head, a smug smile on her face. “Can’t you just chop his head off?” he asked hopefully. “That’s the bit that annoys me the most.”

Rhiannon laughed and squeezed his hand. “I mean it, Ianto. I’ve seen how happy you are when you’re around Jack. In both senses of the word ‘seen’,” she added with a chuckle. “Jack deserves more than spending time alone at Christmas.”

Ianto smiled thankfully and squeezed her hand back momentarily. “Thanks,” he murmured, grateful that she knew how much having Jack around meant to her baby brother.

“Okay,” Rhiannon said, turning the engine off. “Before we go inside and get tackled by your niece and nephew, I have two ground rules.” Ianto raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue; surely she had to know that rules and Ianto Jones didn’t mix well.

“Rule number one,” she ticked off on her fingers, “no smoking in the house or near Annie and Jamie. You know I don’t like that you smoke. And I’m not about to tell you to quit, because at the end of the day, you’re nearly an adult now; it’s up to you. But not around the kids, okay?”

Ianto nodded his head. “What’s rule number two?”

“No swearing in front of them,” Rhiannon replied simply. “No ifs, ands, or buts. They don’t hear it from me or from Al – most of the time. I don’t want them picking it up from their Uncle Ianto.”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “Come on, Rhia. I know I’m an arsehole most of the time. But I know how to act around two small children. Jason and Alison, right?” he joked, earning him a punch in the arm for his efforts.

“Funny!” Rhiannon muttered sarcastically. “Right,” she sighed, opening the door and climbing out. “Time to meet the troops. You’d…” She hesitated as she led him up the garden path to the door. “You’d better brace yourself for the hurricane that is my son.”

Ianto frowned and followed her. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see…” Rhiannon replied, smirking as she unlocked the door and stepped to the side.

Almost as soon as the door was opened a small child flew out and threw himself against Ianto, almost barrelling the teenager over. 

“Whoa!” Ianto exclaimed, chuckling a little as he stumbled and tried to stop himself from falling over.

Rhiannon laughed at the surprised look on her baby brother’s face. “I told you,” she chuckled. “Ianto, the limpet attached to your legs is Jamie and…” She bent down, picking up the little girl who was hiding bashfully behind the door, “This is Annie.”

Annie blushed and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder. 

“Annie,” Rhiannon scoffed, running her hand over her daughter’s hair. “I know you. You’re not shy. Why won’t you say ‘hi’ to your Uncle Ianto?”

Reluctantly the little girl lifted her head and looked at Ianto with wide eyes. “Hi,” she whispered, her voice almost inaudible.

Ianto grinned and held his arms out. “Can I have a hug as well?” he asked, pouting and making his own eyes wider.

She studied him before her face almost split into two and she reached out for him, making Rhiannon grin as she handed Annie to her brother.

“Uncle… Ya- Yan…” She frowned as she stumbled over his name.

“Yan-Toe,” Ianto patiently talked her through the pronunciation. 

A few attempts later she exclaimed, “Ianto!” much to the other’s amusement.

Ianto grinned and hugged her. “Uncle Ianto,” Annie complained a little, wriggling down from his arms and standing next to him. “You’re really warm.”

Suddenly the happiness he felt inside him vanished and he frowned, looking over at Rhiannon, not knowing how to respond to her statement; he didn’t know how much about powers Annie and Jamie knew.

Knowing what her brother’s conflict was, Rhiannon knelt down next to Annie and took her and Jamie’s hands in hers. “That’s because Uncle Ianto is special,” she explained softly, looking into both their eyes.

“Special?” Jamie repeated, releasing his uncle and looking up at him in confusion; no doubt trying to figure out what was so special about him – he didn’t look very special.

“How?” Annie asked curiously, biting her lower lip with her two front teeth.

Rhiannon looked up at her brother and nodded her head, consenting for him to use his powers. “Just a small one,” she instructed, knowing all about his penchant for showing off.

Ianto rolled his eyes and held his hand out, holding it high enough so there was no danger of him hurting either child. 

“Wow!” both Jamie and Annie breathed when a small ball of fire appeared in their Uncle’s hand. 

Ianto grinned and extinguished the fire, just as Jamie reached out and tugged his free hand. “You okay?” he asked, looking down at his nephew, afraid he had scared him.

Jamie nodded his head, pulling Ianto down to his level and whispering in his ear – although his whisper was loud enough that Rhiannon could hear every word. “Can you show me how to do that?” he asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.

Rhiannon laughed loudly. “Sorry, Jamie,” she replied for Ianto. “But that power is only for Uncle Ianto to use.”

Jamie pouted and folded his arms across his chest sulkily. “That’s not fair!” he exclaimed, stamping his foot angrily.

His mother stood upright and placed her hands on her hips, glaring down at her son. “Jamie Evans, you can stop that right now. Or Uncle Ianto can turn right back around and go back to school.”

Jamie let out a horrified gasp and flung himself at Ianto, wrapping his arms around Ianto’s legs so tightly he was afraid he was going to fall over. “Don’t go, Uncle Ianto,” he begged, looking up at the teenager with wide eyes. “It’s okay; I don’t want your power,” he swore.

Ianto chuckled silently and ran his hand over the five year-old’s hair. “I’m not going anywhere, kid,” he assured him. “Not for another couple of weeks, at least.”

Annie tugged on his hand, diverting Ianto’s attention from Jamie to her. “Uncle Ianto?” she asked quietly. “Why do you have to go away then?”

Her voice was small and it sounded as though she was going to cry. Ianto knelt down next to her and placed a hand under her chin. “Hey,” he soothed, tilting her head back so he could look into her eyes, “look at me,” he instructed.

When she finally lifted her gaze, Ianto smiled at her and continued, “I have to go back to school,” he informed her, brushing his thumb lightly across her cheek, trying to not burn her. “But I won’t be gone for long.”

“Promise?” she whispered, her bottom lip quivering.

Ianto nodded his head. “I promise.” He crossed his heart for good measure, making her smile. “It’ll be Easter before you know it and I’ll be back eating all your chocolate,” he grinned.

Annie gasped and hit him on the arm. “Uncle Ianto, you can’t have my chocolate!” she scolded.

Ianto’s jaw dropped open in mock horror and clutched his arm in ‘pain’. “How could you say that?” he asked, looking affronted. “It’s a rule at Easter to share chocolate with your Uncle.”

“That’s not true!” Jamie exclaimed, staring at his uncle in disbelief.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you don’t believe me, do you?” He looked up at Rhiannon, with a faux-serious expression on his face. “It’s true isn’t it?” he asked his sister.

She laughed and held up her hands. “Don’t bring me into this,” she chuckled with a shake of his head.

Ianto pouted at her and glared. “Spoilsport,” he muttered, turning back to Jamie when him tugging on his sleeve. “Something wrong?”

Jamie shook his head. “Come see my room,” he instructed.

Annie glared at her brother. “No!” she cried, taking hold of Ianto’s hand in her smaller palm. “Come see mine!”

“Mine!” Jamie shouted, pulling on Ianto’s sleeve again.

Annie tightened her grip on Ianto’s hand. “Mine!”

Ianto laughed and stood up, not releasing his grip on Annie as he moved so he was also holding Jamie’s hand. “Guys, we’ve got plenty of time. I can see both rooms. But why don’t you start with my room?”

Rhiannon laughed fondly and shook her head, following them into the house as Annie and Jamie dragged Ianto up the stairs and out of sight.


	18. Chapter 18

It was going on six o’clock when Rhiannon’s husband, Al, returned home from work. Rhiannon had called Ianto, Annie and Jamie into the kitchen for tea not even ten minutes before Al opened the door. The accuracy of his sister’s powers still surprised Ianto a little.

“Hey,” a tall brown haired man greeted, shrugging off a leather jacket and throwing it over the back of an empty chair. 

Rhiannon grinned and kissed him softly in greeting before moving back to the stove. “You are not leaving that there,” she informed him, nodding to the jacket he had left. 

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the coat, moving over to the hook a few feet away. “Yes, ma’am,” he murmured. He kissed Jamie and Annie on the forehead before his green eyes flickered over to where Ianto was sat staring at him. “Either she’s been out picking up strays again, or you must be Ianto,” he quipped, flashing Ianto a grin.

Ianto blinked, breaking himself out of his spell and laughed. “I’m Ianto,” he assured him. “Al?” The other man nodded his head. “You don’t look like an accountant,” he stated bluntly.

Al laughed and shook his head. “I should hope not,” he replied, sliding into the chair opposite the Welsh teenager. “Have you seen the way accountants are?” He shuddered. “They’d wet themselves at the sight of my bike.”

“Bike? You have a motorcycle?” Ianto asked with wide eyes; he was finding it very hard to imagine his sister married to the man in front of him.

“No,” Rhiannon answered before Al could.

“Yes I do!” Al cried, looking over his shoulder at his wife.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t answering that question,” she told him with a sigh. “It was the one that was going to follow that I was answering.”

Ianto scowled. “I hate it when you do that,” he muttered. “It’s not fair.”

Al chuckled. “Best get used to it, kid. She does it to me all the time.”

“I feel sorry for these two,” Ianto added, nodding at his niece and nephew. “Bet they can’t get away with anything.”

Rhiannon laughed and shrugged her shoulders unrepentantly, placing bowls in front of everyone before taking her own seat. “Enjoy,” she grinned, tucking into her own food.

x

At eight o’clock that evening, Ianto’s phone started ringing, startling him out of the light doze he had been slipping into. 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and a wide smile spread across his face when he saw Jack’s name flash up on the screen.

“I won’t be a second,” he murmured, glancing at Rhiannon before getting to his feet; he figured he might as well have a quick cigarette while he spoke to his boyfriend.

“Hi,” Ianto greeted, stepping out into the garden and closing the door behind him. “I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

Jack chuckled. “You were the one that was supposed to call me,” he pointed out.

Ianto snorted with laughter and rolled his eyes. “I was going to ring you when Annie and Jamie have gone to bed so we could have phone sex,” he retorted, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cigarettes.

There was silence on the other end of the line, before Jack practically squeaked, “Oh. I’ll call you back later, then.”

Ianto laughed and leant against the wall, placing the cigarette between his lips and lighting it. “I’m glad you called now,” he confessed. “I’ve been told to give you a message.” 

“Oh?” Jack replied, curiosity seeping into his voice. “Who from?”

“Santa Claus,” Ianto informed him with a roll of his eyes. “I’m staying at Rhia’s for Christmas, Jack. Who else would it be from?”

“Smart ass,” Jack quipped. 

“Rhia told me to tell you that if you don’t get your arse in that car of yours and drive the two hours it takes to get here by tomorrow dinnertime, she’ll castrate you the next time she sees you.”

Jack laughed and Ianto could almost see him shaking his head. “She’ll castrate me?” he repeated.

“I know. I tried to tell her that’s the only part of you I like, but she wasn’t having any of it,” Ianto replied, grinning widely as he finished the cigarette. “Seriously, Jack,” he added, pushing himself back from the wall and looking up at his sister’s house. “I know you said you don’t mind spending Christmas alone, but…” He hesitated, trying to figure out how to phrase what he really wanted to say. “I don’t want you to wake up on Christmas morning on your own this year.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone and Ianto closed his eyes, mentally cursing himself for being too much of a romantic idiot. 

“Okay,” Jack eventually whispered, so quietly Ianto thought he was hearing things.

“What?”

“I said okay,” Jack repeated with a sigh of exasperation. “I’m not forced to stay here during the holidays. I’ll pack a bag and set off; if I leave now I should be there in a few hours. Tell Rhia that she’d better make me something to eat when I get there, though. If I want to get there before midnight, I won’t have time to stop.”

“You…” Ianto shook his head. “You’re seriously going to come?” he asked in disbelief. “Now?” He glanced at his watched and winced when he saw the time. “You can come in the morning, you don’t have to come right his instant.”

Jack chuckled and Ianto could hear him moving about the room. “It’s not a problem.” Ianto could practically see him shrugging his shoulders. “Alicia probably won’t be happy about it, but she’ll get over it.”

“I don’t think I’m happy about you driving here in the dark,” Ianto stated, wondering why he hadn’t thought his plan through and invited Jack the next morning, or called him earlier in the day; which he meant to do, he had just been pre-occupied with Jamie and Annie.

Jack sighed and there was a crash, which made Ianto wince. “What have you done?” the Welsh teenager demanded.

“Nothin’,” Jack muttered distractedly. “Seriously, Ianto, I don’t care about driving at night. Besides, it’s like you said, I’ll be alone for Christmas if I stayed here. I’ve got nothing else to do with my time.”

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want,” Ianto snapped.

He heard the American sigh. “Ianto, you know I didn’t mean it like that,” he said softly.

“I know,” the Welsh teenager replied quietly. “Sorry. I’ll see you in a bit.” He paused before adding, “Be careful.”


	19. Chapter 19

As promised, Jack’s car pulled up to the front of Rhiannon’s house a few hours later. The American had been feeling apprehensive all the way down the motorway. He hadn’t spent that much time with Ianto’s sister and didn’t want to impose, but the sight of Ianto waiting for him by the front door made all his feelings of unease disappear.

“Hey,” he greeted as he got out of the car and grabbed his bag from the backseat.

Ianto smiled at him and hopped down the few stairs by the door. “Hi,” he replied, reaching around Jack’s head and crushing their mouths together in a passionate kiss.

Jack groaned against Ianto’s lips and dropped the bag to the floor, moving so his hands were resting on the other teenager’s hips, pulling him closer.

When the need to breathe became too strong, Ianto broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Jack’s, his chest heaving. “Hi,” he repeated, grinning at his boyfriend.

Jack laughed and rolled his eyes. “That’s twice you’ve said that,” he pointed out, bending down to pick his bag up once more. “We’ve been apart for not even a day and you’re already as horny as Hell,” he commented, chuckling to himself when Ianto squeezed his arse.

“I’m not horny,” Ianto replied with a scowl. Jack laughed loudly and Ianto rolled his eyes. “Well, maybe I am. But you’d better get your kicks while you can. Jamie and Annie were very happy about meeting their Uncle Ianto. Haven’t left me alone all day. I think they’re going to be extremely happy about meeting you in the morning.”

Jack chuckled and followed Ianto up the stairs into the house, dropping his bag on the inside of the door. “You know, this house doesn’t look anything like I thought it would,” he murmured, looking around with a grin on his face.

Ianto raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at his boyfriend. “What were you expecting?”

The American shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just… I figured since you’re such a neat freak that it was genetic.”

Ianto laughed and shook his head. “Rhia has two children under the age of six, Jack,” he pointed out.

Almost as if her name had summoned her, Rhiannon appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her hair in a high ponytail and a fluffy red dressing gown wrapped around her.

“Hey Jack!” she grinned when she saw her brother standing with his boyfriend. “There’s food in the oven,” she informed him. “It should be ready any minute.”

Jack smiled and his stomach rumbled at the mere mention of food; he hadn’t had anything to eat since leaving the school and he hadn’t realised how hungry he actually was. “How did you know what time I’d get here?” he asked.

Rhiannon laughed and raised an eyebrow. Ianto rolled his eyes and elbowed Jack. “How do you think she knew? Idiot,” he muttered with a shake of his head.

The American looked confused for a moment before realisation hit and he blushed deeply. “Oh. I forgot,” he admitted. “Sorry.”

Rhiannon shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It took Al ages to get used to it.” She yawned and rolled her eyes at herself, “Sorry,” she apologised. “It’s been a long day.”

Jack chuckled and nodded his head. “Tell me about it,” he retorted. “You didn’t have to stay up.”

“I was planning on staying awake anyway,” Rhiannon dismissed with a wave of her hand. “When the kids are in bed is the only time I get to myself.” She smiled and hugged both teenagers, placing a kiss on each of their foreheads. “Night boys,” she murmured, turning and heading up the stairs.

Jack grabbed his bag from where Ianto had dropped it and slid his hand into his boyfriend’s. “Come on then, Mr Jones,” he instructed. “I got in a car and drove all this way for you; the least you can do is feed me and take me to bed.”

Ianto’s eyes twinkled and he smirked to himself. “Don’t get your hopes up,” he instructed Jack. “If Annie and Jamie get up in the middle of the night, Rhiannon will kill me if they catch us in the middle of sex.”

Jack laughed loudly and rolled his eyes. “I never said anything about sex,” he retorted. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to have something to eat then I’m planning on sleeping for as long as possible.”


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, when Jack and Ianto came down for breakfast Annie and Jamie were waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs with Rhiannon. 

“Who’s that?” Annie asked, clutching at Rhiannon’s jeans and looking up at her with wide eyes.

Rhiannon smiled and ran her hand over her daughter’s hair, replying, “That’s Jack,” she whispered. “Uncle Ianto’s boyfriend.”

Jamie looked up at Rhiannon. “Uncle Ianto’s boyfriend?” Rhiannon nodded her head and Jamie turned back to Jack. “Does that mean you’re ‘Uncle Jack’?” he asked, tentatively moving closer to the American and looking up at him with slightly suspicious eyes.

Jack started in surprise and looked over at Ianto, who shrugged and urged him to answer the boy’s question. He looked over at Rhiannon, who simply nodded her head. “Erm… If you want me to be,” he finally answered, crouching down in front Jamie so they were the same height and he could look Jamie in the eye.

Jamie frowned a little when Jack spoke. “You have a funny accent,” he stated with all the bluntness of a child.

Ianto threw his head back and laughed loudly, earning him a glare from the American.

“Erm… That’s because I’m not from the UK,” Jack replied, turning back to Jamie.

“Where are you from?” Jamie demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

“There’s a map in Al’s office if you want to show him,” Rhiannon spoke, heading into the kitchen to make them all some breakfast.

Jamie grinned and grabbed Jack by the hand, pulling him up the stairs before he could be stopped, or the American could protest. 

Ianto laughed and picked Annie up. “Shall we go see where Uncle Jack is from as well?” he asked his niece.

Annie grinned and nodded her head; letting out a yelp of happiness at they followed her brother and Jack.

x

They spent a while in Al’s office, explaining to Jamie and Annie where Jack was from and showing them on Al’s map. Eventually the children had gotten bored of the map and they decided that both teenagers were going to play Annie’s Barbie Dolls and Jamie’s Action Men.

About half past six in the evening, Rhiannon and Al had – at Ianto’s insistence – gone out for dinner, leaving Annie and Jamie with their Uncles. 

Not really knowing what to do with two small children, Jack and Ianto had put ‘Disney Cinemagic’ on for Annie and Jamie. It had been the best idea they’d ever had; neither teenager had heard a peep from them for hours.

Halfway through the film, Jamie looked over at Jack who was sitting on the other end of the couch, trying to force himself to pretend to be interested in the film. Before anyone could stop him, Jamie clambered across Ianto and squeezed himself between the couple.

“Uncle Jack?” he asked, looking up at the American with big blue eyes. “Can I have a cuddle?”

He didn’t wait for an answer; he simply curled into Jack’s side and wrapped his arm around his waist.

Jack immediately stiffened when he felt Jamie hug him. “Ianto…” he whispered with a pleading tone to his voice as he looked over at his boyfriend.

“Jamie,” Ianto murmured, resting a hand lightly on his nephew’s shoulder. He hesitated, not knowing how to tell Jamie to leave Jack alone when he clearly adored him. “Aren’t you cold?” he eventually asked, throwing his boyfriend an apologetic look.

Jamie lifted his head from Jack’s chest and frowned at his uncle. “No,” he replied slowly, as though Ianto were stupid for even suggesting that he might be cold.

He looked up at Jack helplessly, trying to silently ask him what he wanted him to do. The American looked down at Jamie, his expression still terrified, before slowly bringing his arm up and loosely draping it around Jamie. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, his voice weak and lacking in confidence entirely.

Jamie nodded his head, his eyes still firmly glued on the screen.

“I…” Jack hesitated, looking down at Jamie and seeing how completely relaxed and unaffected he was by Jack’s powers. “It’s… okay,” he murmured, looking up at his boyfriend. “I… I think he’s okay. Just…”

Ianto smiled, “I won’t go anywhere,” he assured him. He knew that Jack would want him around to warm Jamie up if he got too cold. “I’ll be right here.”


	21. Chapter 21

Two hours later, the film ended and Ianto blinked sleepily. He hadn’t realised how intently he had been watching the screen until the credits began to roll. He moved his gaze over to the second couch, where Annie was fast asleep while she sucked her thumb.

The Welsh teenager smiled fondly and got to his feet. “Annie,” he whispered, running his hand over her hair. “Come on,” he added. “Time to go to bed.”

Annie’s eyes flickered open and she smiled sleepily up at her Uncle. “Mummy and daddy home?” he asked.

“Not yet.” Ianto shook his head. “Which is why you’ve got to go to bed before they get back. Me and Uncle Jack’ll get in trouble if you’re still up.”

Annie gasped in horror and jumped into Ianto’s arms. “I don’t want you to get in trouble,” she murmured, her lower lip quivering.

Ianto smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Let’s get you to bed then,” he chuckled. His gaze flickered over to Jack and Jamie, both of whom were still fast asleep. “I’ll sort these two out when I come back down.”

It didn’t take long to get Annie ready for bed and almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she had fallen asleep again.

When Ianto returned to the living room, Jack and Jamie were still fast asleep, and Ianto had to smile at the picture they made. Jamie was still curled up under Jack’s arm with his head resting on the teenager’s chest; they were both practically dead to the world. 

Ianto reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He took a picture of his boyfriend, before placing it on the coffee table.

“Jack,” Ianto called quietly, trying to wake his boyfriend without waking Jamie as well. Carrying him to bed would be easier. 

When Jack didn’t stir, Ianto reached out to shake him. As soon as his hand met Jack’s naked forearm, the American’s eyes flew open and he let out a pain filled gasp as he jumped in surprise.

The action jostled Jamie, who whined and tried to curl further into Jack’s embrace.

“What?” Ianto demanded, concern lacing his voice. “What’s wrong?”

Jack stared at the area on his arm where Ianto had touched him for a long moment, before looking up at his boyfriend. “Ianto…” he began quietly. “That… When you touched me… You burnt me.”


	22. Chapter 22

“You burnt me.”

Jack’s words echoed in the silence of the room before Ianto exclaimed, “That’s not possible! Our powers don’t work like that against each other. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

The American raised an eyebrow at Ianto’s words. “Thanks. It’s so nice to know that my boyfriend’s tried to use his powers on me,” he drawled.

Ianto rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean, Jack,” he snapped. “Me touching you like that shouldn’t have hurt.”

“I know it shouldn’t,” Jack retorted. “But you need to calm down,” he added, looking over at Jamie who was watching them with scared, wide eyes.

Ianto followed his gaze and sighed when he saw how terrified Jamie looked. “Oh, god, Jamie,” he breathed, sitting down on the coffee table and reaching out for his nephew. “I am so sorry.”

To Ianto’s surprise, the five-year old shook his head and shrunk away from Ianto, trying to burrow further into Jack’s embrace.

Jack, sensing how much Jamie pushing him away was hurting Ianto, ran his fingers through Jamie’s hair. “Jamie, Uncle Ianto wants to give you a hug,” he murmured.

“You’re yelling at each other,” Jamie whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes as he pressed his face against Jack’s chest. 

“No, no, Jamie, we’re not,” Ianto replied, placing a hand on Jamie’s back. “Well, we are. But that doesn’t mean we don’t care about each other still.”

Jamie lifted his head and studied the two of them before ordering, “Kiss and make it better.”

“What?” Jack laughed, albeit it a little nervously.

Jamie huffed in annoyance and folded his arms across his chest. “Whenever Daddy makes Mummy upset, he always kisses her and makes it better. You and Uncle Ianto have to kiss and make it better.”

Ianto hesitated, before leaning closer and pressed his lips against Jack’s, not missing how much the American teenager winced. “Something isn’t right about this, Jack,” he stated, pulling back and moving so he wasn’t touching him at all.

The front door opened and Rhiannon and Al walked into the house. “What’s going on here?” Rhiannon asked in surprise, pointing at Jamie who was still sat next to Jack. “You should be in bed, young man.”

“It’s my fault he’s still up, Rhia,” Ianto sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We were watching a film and I lost track of time. Annie’s already in bed though.”

Rhiannon frowned and studied her younger brother, clearly not believing a word of what he was saying. She threw a meaningful look at her husband, who nodded and picked Jamie up. 

“Come on, kid,” Al said, resting Jamie on his hip and heading up the stairs. “Time for you to go to bed.”

Rhiannon watched them go, before turning to her brother and his boyfriend and demanding, “Okay, what the hell are you two not telling me?”

Ianto sighed and ran his hand through his hair, slumping back on the couch and looking at his sister. “I think we’ve got a problem.”


	23. Chapter 23

Rhiannon had listened to them explain what had happened, before admitting that she had no idea what could possibly have happened to make Jack able to feel Ianto’s powers. She sent them to bed almost an hour after her and Al had returned home, assuring them that she would see if she could come up with a reason during the night.

Jack watched Ianto pace around the bedroom for so long that he was actually getting dizzy. “Ianto,” he started, taking a step closer to Ianto and trying to place a hand on his arm in an attempt to stop him pacing.

When the Welsh teenager jumped away from him, Jack growled in annoyance. Ever since Rhiannon had told them to go to bed, Ianto had been avoiding contact with him; he even looked as though he were seconds away from bolting from the room in fear.

“Damn it, Ianto!” Jack snapped, finally loosing his patience. “You’re worrying about nothing. You’re not going to hurt me!”

“You don’t know that. You can’t know that for sure,” Ianto retorted, pacing the room as he tried to think. He had been trying to come up with a reason for Jack being able to feel how hot he was, but so far hadn’t come up with any thing. “I burnt you from touching you…”

“Okay,” Jack conceded, “maybe burnt was a bit of an overstatement. There’s no blister or anything,” he said, trying to make Ianto feel better.

It didn’t work. “There isn’t a blister now. Who knows what’ll happen next time? I could really hurt you, Jack.” Ianto laughed bitterly and shook his head. “When I actually wanted to hurt you, my powers wouldn’t even touch you. Now that I actually care about what happens to you, I could burn you to a cinder in seconds.”

Jack sighed and stalked across the room, grabbing Ianto by the shoulders and kissing him passionately before he had chance to react. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ianto demanded, pulling away and jumping back from Jack. “I could have killed you, you idiot!”

“Ianto,” Jack said, trying to keep his voice even when all he wanted to do was smack some sense into his boyfriend. “I’m fine. I didn’t feel anything. No fire or pain. You feel the same as you always do. Pleasantly warm.”

Ianto stared at him and he could swear his jaw was falling open. “You… What?” he finally croaked.

“Come ‘ere,” Jack instructed, holding his hand out in invitation to Ianto. When their fingers laced and Jack didn’t pull away he added, “See?”

Ianto blinked in surprise. “But… How is that even possible?” he whispered, looking into Jack’s blue eyes.

“I don’t know,” Jack confessed softly, running his hand up and down Ianto’s back. “Maybe Alicia will know. But until we can call her, can we at least get some sleep?”


	24. Chapter 24

Ianto didn’t sleep well that night. He kept tossing and turning, worrying that he would turn over and there would be a pile of ashes in the bed next to him where his boyfriend should be.

When Jack eventually awoke, Ianto was practically going stir crazy with boredom; he wanted Jack to wake up, so they could see if Rhiannon had figured something out during the night.

“Morning,” Rhiannon greeted them when they arrived in the kitchen; Ianto noted that Al’s coat had vanished from where he had put it the previous day, so he presumed the accountant had already left for work.

“Hi,” Jack greeted, flashing a bright smile and even going so far as to kiss her on the cheek before pulling a cupboard open. He grabbed a glass and poured himself some orange juice. 

Ianto didn’t say anything as he slid into a seat at the table. “How’s your arm?” Rhiannon asked, indicating to the appendage with the butter knife that was in her hand.

Jack followed her gaze and glanced down at his arm; blemish free - just as he had sworn it would be to Ianto. “Nothing there,” he replied, holding his arm out to prove it. “I don’t know what last night was about, but I’m fine now; everything’s back to normal.”

Rhiannon glanced at her brother who was staring down at the table guiltily. “Me and Al were talking last night after you guys went to bed. I think I’ve figured what happened.”

Ianto’s head snapped up in surprise. “You have?” he whispered.

Rhiannon nodded and slid into the seat next to Ianto. “Both me and Al think that what happened last night to the two of you was something to do with Jamie.”

Ianto raised an eyebrow and Rhiannon continued, “What were you doing just before you felt Ianto’s powers?” she asked.

Jack sat down opposite Rhiannon and leant on the table. “I was asleep,” he stated.

“Curled up with Jamie…” Ianto added. His voice trailed off as he began to realise the direction Rhiannon was heading in with her questions.

It didn’t take long for Jack to catch on as well. “He said I didn’t feel cold to him,” he added. “And Ianto doesn’t feel hot.”

“Jamie hasn’t even reacted to my powers once since I got here,” Ianto informed his sister.

Rhiannon nodded her head and got to her feet. “Jamie, sweetheart?” she called, pushing the kitchen door open and looking into the living room where Jamie was intently watching cartoons with his sister. “Could you come in here for a second?” 

The five-year old scowled, clearly not happy about having to move. One look from his mother was enough to stop any complaints and he got to his feet, following Rhiannon into the kitchen.

“Jamie,” Rhiannon said, sitting down and taking her son’s hands in hers, “I need you to do me a favour.” Jamie nodded his head eagerly, looking at her expectantly. “Could you hold Uncle Ianto’s hand for a minute?”

Jamie frowned, not understanding why she wanted him to hold hands with his uncle, but held his hand out to Ianto obligingly. When Ianto slid his palm into Jamie’s, the young boy didn’t even blink at the heat of Ianto’s skin.

“Now, Jack,” Rhiannon turned to her brother’s boyfriend. “Try touching Ianto’s free hand; see what happens.”

Jack did as instructed and touched his index finger to the back of Ianto’s hand. The Welsh teenager drew in a startled gasp when he felt ice spread through his fingertips, sending a shiver down his spine.

“What the…?” Ianto whispered, moving his hand away from Jack and releasing Jamie’s hand as he moved.

As soon as Ianto released his nephew’s hand, Jack reached out and pressed the tip of his finger against Ianto’s hand. The other teenager shook his head. “Nothing,” he murmured. He turned to his sister. “Rhia? What’s going on?”

Rhiannon pressed a kiss to Jamie’s forehead and smiled at her son. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she grinned. “You can finish watching cartoons now,” she added, chuckling as Jamie eagerly ran into the living room.

“I’m not an expert,” Rhiannon began once it was just the three of them in the kitchen again. “But I think – and Al’s agrees with me – that Jamie’s powers have started to come through.”

Ianto’s eyes widened and he stared at her incredulously. “He’s only five!” he hissed. “Powers don’t start showing until nine or ten, at least.”

Rhiannon nodded her head. “I know that,” she replied. “But how else do you explain what happened last night?”

Both teenagers were silent and Rhiannon sat down in the chair next to her brother. “I’ve never had a vision about Jamie,” she confessed, idly folding the tea towel and setting it on the table in front of her. “I didn’t even know I was pregnant until I missed my period.”

Ianto grimaced, “Too much information, Rhia!”

Rhiannon rolled her eyes and continued, ignoring her brother, “With Annie, I knew pretty much straight away.”

Jack’s eyes widened at the implication of Rhiannon’s words and he sat down next to Ianto, his hand automatically moving to rest on his boyfriend’s thigh. “Jamie had powers before he was even born?”

Rhiannon nodded. “It looks that way,” she replied. “Ianto…” She reached over and placed her hand on his arm, seemingly not bothered by the heat she could feel through his hooded sweatshirt. “What happened yesterday wasn’t anything you did,” she tried to assure him, “you can’t feel guilty about hurting Jack…”

“You didn’t hurt me!” Jack interjected. 

Ianto sighed and nodded his head. “What are you going to do about Jamie?” he asked softly, looking over at his sister.

Rhiannon shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “I do know that he’s not going to Torchwood when he’s only five. I’ll speak to Alicia and see what she says, but I don’t see any reason why he can’t stay at a regular school for another few years.”

Ianto and Jack exchanged concerned glances, before Ianto murmured, “Should we be worried you two are talking to each other?”


	25. Chapter 25

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Jack and Ianto woke to find two excited children jumping on the bed, trying to wake their uncles. 

“Come on, Uncle Jack, Uncle Ianto!” Jamie cried, tugging at the quilt covering the teenagers. “You’ve got to come play with us!” he ordered.

Ianto cracked an eye open and glanced at the clock sitting on the bedside table, groaning when he saw how early it was. “Jamie, its eight o’clock in the morning,” he muttered, rolling onto his stomach and burying his face in the pillow. “Why don’t you go back to bed for another few hours?”

Beside him, Jack was trying to ignore the children jumping on the bed as well. His eyes flew open when Annie landed on his stomach, and he let out a pained gasp. “Annie,” he grumbled, trying to rearrange the young girl so she was lying in between them. 

“But, Uncle Jack,” Annie whined, tugging on the covers once more. “It snowed last night,” she finally told them.

Jack’s eyes flew open in surprise at her words. “What?” he whispered, thinking he had to have heard her wrong. 

Annie placed her hand in Jack’s and pulled him from the bed, making the American eternally glad that he and Ianto hadn’t slept naked the night before. “Come see,” she instructed, tugging him over to the window.

With a groan, Jack allowed himself to be pulled across the room, where Annie pointed excitedly at the white powder covering the ground below.

“Wow,” Jack breathed in surprise. “It really did snow,” he added, looking back at Ianto who was slowly being cajoled out of bed by Jamie.

“Did you think they were lying?” Ianto asked, raising an eyebrow as he moved to stand next to his boyfriend and look out of the window. 

Jack shook his head. “Well, no,” he confessed, running his hand over Annie’s hair when she grinned up at him in excitement. “But, I can’t remember the last time it snowed at Christmas.”

Ianto frowned as he tried to think. “No, neither can I,” he confessed. He glanced down at his niece and nephew, who were looking at them with expectant eyes. “Why don’t you two go get your coats and gloves on while me and Jack get dressed?” he suggested.

Jamie nodded his head, grinning from ear to ear, before grabbing hold of Annie’s hand and dragging his sister from the room. 

As they got dressed, Ianto looked over at his boyfriend with a worried expression. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked, finally unable to keep quiet about his worries.

Jack paused in fastening his jeans and looked up to meet Ianto’s concerned gaze. “I think so,” he murmured, smiled thankfully at Ianto; showing he was grateful Ianto was scared for him. “I’m actually looking forward to it,” he confessed, a light blush gracing his cheeks.

Ianto raised an eyebrow and smiled affectionately at Jack’s bashful look. “You’re looking forward to it?” he questioned.

Jack blushed deeper and busied himself with pulling on a T-shirt and hooded sweatshirt, not answering Ianto’s question. 

“Jack…” Ianto said with a slight warning tone in his voice. 

“I’ve never played in the snow,” Jack whispered, flushing to the tips of his ears.

Ianto couldn’t help it, he knew he shouldn’t be surprised, considering how much the cold pained his boyfriend, but he couldn’t help exclaiming, “Never?” Ianto had played in the snow plenty of times with Rhiannon – before his powers had shown themselves, of course.

Jack shook his head. “I was barely one when we moved from Chicago to Florida,” Jack explained. “It doesn’t really snow there. And then, after Gray was…” He shook his head, “We moved to New York when Dad got a job, but I never wanted to play in the snow because, well… you know.”

Ianto sighed and pulled his boyfriend into his arms. “Well, you’ll be able to play with Jamie and Annie for as long as you want today,” he whispered in Jack’s ear, pressing a soft kiss to the other teenager’s cheek. “Because I won’t be able to.”

Jack frowned in confusion. “Why not?” he asked, clearly not understanding what Ianto was talking about.

Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack, wondering if he was being deliberately dumb. “It’s snow out there, Jack,” he stated. “And snow’s cold. What melts snow?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jack looked at Ianto blankly for another moment, before realisation dawned in his eyes and he murmured, “Ah.”

The Welsh teenager nodded his head, pulling on his own hoodie. “The snow will melt the instant I set foot in the garden,” he stated, fixing his collar.

“It might not do,” Jack reasoned. “You don’t know for sure what’ll happen.”

Ianto smiled affectionately at Jack and pulled him into his arms, kissing him softly for a moment, pulling back when he heard Jamie shout them from downstairs. “It will,” he stated. “I know it will; that’s what happened the night you showed me your powers.”

“Did it?” The Welsh teenager rolled his eyes and Jack exclaimed, “I was a little distracted that day!”

Ianto scoffed and placed his hand in Jack’s, dragging him from the room and pulling him down the stairs. 

“Come on, Uncle Ianto!” Annie whined, looking dangerously close to stomping her foot. “We want to go play in the snow!”

Ianto rolled his eyes and zipped his niece’s coat up a little bit more, despite her protesting. “Uncle Jack will play with you,” he said, pulling Jamie’s hood up over his head.

Jamie pouted and looked up at Ianto with wide eyes. “Why aren’t you coming?” he asked, his bottom lip quivering; he looked as though he were about to burst into tears.

Jack pulled the kitchen door open, stepping out into the garden. “Come on, guys,” he called, hopping off the deck and sinking into the fresh snow. He looked back at Annie and Jamie who were still standing with Ianto.

Ianto urged them forward, following them out onto the deck. To Jack’s surprise, the snow beneath Ianto’s feet melted the instant he stepped out of the door. “Do you see what I mean?” he asked, looking over at the American.

Annie looked down at their feet and gasped in surprise when she saw that there wasn’t any snow underneath her Uncle’s feet anymore. “Uncle Ianto, why is the snow going away?” she questioned.

Ianto ran his hand over her head. “Do you remember when I showed you my powers?” He waited for Annie’s nod of agreement before continuing, “My whole body is boiling hot and that’s what’s melting the snow.” He glanced over at Jack. “But Uncle Jack’s powers are the opposite of mine.”

Annie and Jamie looked over at Jack in confusion and the American grinned at them. “I can create ice and snow,” he explained, hoping that they wouldn’t ask for a demonstration; he knew he still didn’t have the kind of control that Ianto did.

Jamie gasped in surprise and ran over to Jack, tugging eagerly on his hand. “Did you make it snow, Uncle Jack?” he asked, awe filling his voice as he looked up at the American.

Jack laughed and raised an eyebrow, looking over at Ianto with a grin on his face. “It’s possible,” he agreed. “You never know.”

Ianto scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh please,” he muttered, sitting down on a chair on the porch. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Jack stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend – he really wanted to flick his middle finger up at him – before turning back to Jamie and Annie. “I thought you wanted to play,” he stated, picking up a handful of snow and sprinkling it over Jamie’s head.

“Uncle Jack!” Jamie exclaimed, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it at the American – hitting him square in the face.

Jack’s jaw fell open in surprise and he stared down at Jamie. “Oh, see, now, this means war,” he stated, smirking evilly at Ianto’s nephew.

Jamie shrieked with laughter and turned on his heel, running down the garden away from Jack, with the American and Annie hot on his heels.


	26. Chapter 26

The Christmas holidays went by far too fast for Ianto’s liking. Before he knew it, he and Jack were in the car driving back to the school.

“Can’t we go back?” Jack asked with a slight whine in his voice. He frowned when only silence answered him. “Ianto?” he asked. “Oi,” he shouted, reaching over and hitting his boyfriend on the leg.

“What?” Ianto grumbled, pulling out one of the headphones and glaring at Jack. “You bought me this CD; don’t you want me to listen to it?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I do,” he assured the other teenager. “But not while we’re in the car; I feel like I’m on my own. You could always put the CD in here, you know?” he pointed out, tapping his index finger to the car’s stereo system.

Ianto laughed and shook his head, turning the CD player off and placing it on the back seat of the car. “You would throw the disc out of the window in seconds, Jack,” he stated. “Our tastes in music aren’t even slightly similar.” While Ianto preferred rock and heavy metal, Jack liked to listen pop and dance music.

Jack smiled and reached over, placing his hand over Ianto’s. “True,” he agreed, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand as they pulled up to the gates of the school.

The American whistled appreciatively when he spotted a blue sports car parked in front of the house. “That’s an Audi TTRS Roadster,” he murmured, pulling his own car into his parking space.

Ianto rolled his eyes and got out of the car. “Do you spend all day reading car magazines?” he asked, pulling the back door open and grabbing his bag.

“Not all day,” Jack defended himself, locking the car door and turning back to the school. “But look at it, Ianto,” he whined, pouting as he approached the car. “It’s so pretty.”

Ianto laughed and rolled his eyes. “If you like it so much, why don’t you just buy yourself one?” he asked, climbing up the stairs of the main school building; if they didn’t let Alicia know they were back, she would kill them both.

Jack scoffed and looked at Ianto with an incredulous look. “What makes you think I could afford one?”

“You’re parents are as rich as mine – maybe even richer,” Ianto stated.

Jack shrugged his shoulders, pushing the door open and entering the building. “I don’t get my inheritance until I leave school,” he replied. “Their way of making sure I get an education, I suppose.”

Ianto followed Jack through the doors and stopped in his tracks when they spotted an unfamiliar man standing in the foyer. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his brown pinstriped suit and he was looking around him with wide eyes.

“Who the hell are you?” Ianto demanded.

The thin stranger continued looking around him, awe clearly written over his face. “So this is Torchwood, huh?” he murmured, running his hand over the back of his neck. “Blimey it’s fancy.”

“I said,” Ianto stated, taking a step closer and folding his arms across his chest. “Who are you?” 

He blinked, as though he’d only just realised the teenagers didn’t actually know who he was, and smiled bashfully. “Oh, right. Sorry. Yeah, I’m the Doctor.”


	27. Chapter 27

Alicia cradled the cup of tea in her hands, staring at the boiling liquid before looking up at the man sat opposite her. Jack and Ianto had come to get her not long after they arrived back at the school. She had been surprised to find a man claiming to be the very same Doctor in whose name the school had been created standing the foyer. She had tried getting a reading from him, but every attempt had failed.

“I don’t know if I believe you,” she eventually stated, taking a rather large gulp of tea.

The Doctor was sitting on the couch in front of her, one leg crossed over the other as he watched her watching him with a small smile. “You’re Alicia, aren’t you?”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I don’t think I want to know how you know my name,” she replied evenly.

He grinned at her and leant forward suddenly, making her jump a little. He rested his elbows against his thighs and regarded her carefully. “You’ve been taking care of my…” When the door opened he broke off and jumped to his feet.

Yvonne entered the room, followed closely by Jack and Ianto who were both looking completely befuddled. “So this is the man you say is claiming to be the Doctor?” she asked, looking between the couple behind her and the man in front.

Jack and Ianto both nodded their heads, as did the Doctor, and Yvonne smiled. “Then none of us have anything to worry about.”

Alicia looked up at the headmistress in confusion. “Yvonne?” she asked.

Yvonne sighed and rolled her eyes. “Have none of you seen a sketch of the man Queen Victoria met?” They all shook their heads and she heaved another sigh, wondering how any of them had managed to pass their classes. “Trust me. He is the Doctor.”

The Doctor beamed and nodded his head. “Thank you!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and falling back on the couch.

He fell silent as his eyes rested on Jack and Ianto. “Blimey, you’ve grown up fast,” he murmured, running a hand over his hair.

The couple frowned and exchanged confused glances. “Who… Who are you talking to?” Jack stammered, flicking his eyes back to the Doctor.

“Mr Jones,” the Doctor clarified, nodding to Ianto.

Ianto’s eyes widened in surprised and he pointed to himself. “Me?” He most definitely did not squeak. “Why me?”

The Doctor frowned in confusion and leant forward again, his brown eyes studying the student. “Do you… Do you not know who I am?” he asked softly, disbelief lacing his voice.

Ianto looked at Alicia, who was looking just as confused as he felt. “Alicia, what is he talking about?” he demanded of his guardian.

“I don’t know, Ianto,” she confessed. “I haven’t been able to get anything from him since he arrived. Either he’s a complete null, or…”

The Doctor interrupted them. “I’m an expert at shielding,” he finished for her with a shrug of his shoulders. “You’re a telepath?” Alicia nodded and the Doctor smiled to reassure her. “Don’t worry. Your powers are working perfectly. I can just shield myself better than the average person; there are too many secrets in here for me to allow people free access.” He tapped his temple with his index.

“I…” he continued, turning his attention back to Ianto. “You really don’t know me do you?” he asked again, completely baffled.

“You’re the Doctor,” Ianto retorted, rolling his eyes and looking at Jack in disbelief.

“They haven’t even told you anything? Not even a tale or a myth? Blimey, the twenty-first century’s very humbling,” he sighed, running a hand through his already messy brown hair.

Ianto scowled and folded his arms across his chest. He could feel his powers stirring inside of him and he had to struggle to keep them in control. Jack, sensing his boyfriend’s anger, reached out and placed a cold hand on Ianto’s arm, reminding him of his presence and calming him down.

“Doctor,” Jack spoke for Ianto, not moving his hand an inch; Ianto needed to stay focused unless they wanted him to kill the Doctor before they found out what he was talking about. “Please will you stop with the cryptic crap and give us a straight answer.”

The Doctor looked up at the young American who was speaking and frowned deeply when he saw how intimate he and Ianto seemed; clearly they were more than just friends. “Fine,” he huffed. “I just can’t believe they haven’t told you about me. I mean, for you to not recognise me is one thing – it has been years – but, to not even know about me.” He shook his head. “That’s just out of…”

“Doctor!” Jack, Yvonne and Alicia all cried in exasperation. Ianto was too busy focusing on not losing his patience to speak. Slowly he unfolded his arms and slid his palm into Jack’s, not quite ready to lose him calming presence. 

“Right, sorry. Ianto, I’m your great-grandfather.”


	28. Chapter 28

Collectively, they all stared at the Doctor in disbelief. “You’re my… what?” Ianto eventually asked.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” the Doctor said softly. “But I really am telling you the truth. I’ve been watching over you and your family for years, Ianto,” the Doctor murmured, reaching out to place a hand on the younger man’s leg, before stopping and reminding himself that it was probably too familiar a touch. “More so over these past few months.”

Jack and Ianto exchanged quick glances, each of them thinking the same thing; that explained why Ianto had been feeling like he was being watched.

“Why have you never shown yourself to me?” Ianto asked. His voice was quiet as he tore his gaze away from Jack’s. “To us? Does Rhiannon even know you exist?” 

The Doctor shook his head. “I doubt it; if your parents never told you about me, I don’t think they would have mentioned anything to your sister. I did show myself to you once. A long time ago.” He scratched the back of his head as he thought. “God, it must have… How old are you now? Sixteen?”

“Seventeen,” Ianto replied indignantly, glaring at the Doctor. 

“Really? I missed your birthday?” He looked amazed and slightly abashed before continuing, “Then it must have been… Fifteen years ago.” He paused before nodded. “Yes, fifteen years. You would have been about two.”

“And Rhiannon? She would have been eleven,” Ianto countered. “There’s no way she could have forgotten meeting you.”

The Doctor hung his head, looking at his hands regretfully. “Yes, that…” He chuckled humourlessly, “That was my fault. I timed it wrong, and she was in the Yorkshire Dales with school when I visited.”

Jack squeezed Ianto’s hand when he felt his boyfriend’s skin heating up. “Calm down,” he whispered under his breath, too quiet for anyone else to hear him.

Ianto looked at him out of the corner of his eye and smiled gratefully. “You said you’ve been watching over us for years,” he stated, trying to keep his voice even.

The Doctor nodded. “I have,” he confirmed.

“Then you know how my parents have treated me ever since they found out about my powers,” Ianto accused, his eyes flickering orange and yellow as anger swelled inside him once more, despite Jack’s attempts to keep him calm. “What they told me about Rhiannon and how they made me believe she ran away.” The Doctor winced and Ianto continued, “Yet, you still didn’t think to show yourself to me? To show me that I did actually have at least one relative who cared about me?”

Across the other side of the room, the curtains covering the window caught fire and, for the first time since they had found about Jamie’s powers, Jack winced at the heat coming from Ianto’s hand. 

Yvonne sighed and grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher to douse the flames; she was too used to random things catching fire around Ianto Jones to be truly mad with the teenager. She just knew the Doctor was lucky Ianto hadn’t set fire to him, rather than the curtains.

“Jack,” Yvonne sighed, nodding to the American with pleading eyes. “Can you…?” she indicated to Ianto, who was staring at the curtains with fire still in his eyes. Alicia had informed her that Jack and Ianto seemed to be able to help each other control their powers better.

Jack nodded and shook his boyfriend’s shoulder a little. “Ianto…” he called, trying to break through the angry filled haze Ianto was currently in. When the Welsh teenager didn’t respond, Jack moved so he was kneeling in front of him, shooing the Doctor away when he tried to help as well. “Leave him alone,” he snarled, feeling a surge of protectiveness inside him.

The Doctor swallowed nervously and leant back, holding his hands up in defeat as he watched the couple. “Are they always like this?” he asked, chancing looking at Yvonne and Alicia, his eyes wide in surprise.

They nodded their heads, neither of them speaking as they watched Jack and Ianto. 

Jack reached up, cupping Ianto’s face with his hands. His skin felt so warm under his palm: to the point that it almost hurt Jack to feel it. He hated when he could feel his boyfriend’s powers that out of control. “Ianto,” he whispered, running his thumb over his cheekbone. “Come on,” he begged. 

“Ianto…” the Doctor said from beside him, ignoring all of their alarmed cries.

Jack tore his gaze away from Ianto and glared at the Doctor. “Don’t touch him,” he hissed through his teeth. “Nothing you do is going to help.”

Alicia sighed and leant forward, placing her now empty cup on the coffee table and looking at the Doctor. “He’s right, Doctor. When he gets like this, only Jack can pull him out of it.”

The Doctor looked like he wanted to know more, but wisely chose not to press that matter, leaning back as he watched the couple silently once more.

Jack turned back to Ianto, focusing his attention on the Welsh teenager again. “Come on, Ianto,” he murmured. 

The heat he could feel under his hand was becoming painful, and Jack had to fully access his own powers to stop his hand from burning. Yvonne let out a startled yelp when the few remaining embers turned to ice before her eyes. “Sorry, Miss Hartman,” he murmured, not turning around as he continued looking at Ianto with snow filled eyes.

“It’s not a problem,” Yvonne sighed and placed the fire extinguisher down. “It saves me doing it.”

Jack sighed and leant forward, pressing his cold lips against Ianto’s superheated ones. 

The feeling of cold against his lips slowly brought Ianto out of the daze, and he uncertainly began to reciprocate when he realised who Jack was, and what was going on.

“Jack?” he murmured in confusion, his flame filled eyes staring into Jack’s now snow filled orbs.

Jack smiled and kissed him softly once more. “You back?” he asked, not wanting to move from where he was kneeling until he was certain Ianto wasn’t going to freak out on them again.

Ianto blinked slowly. “I… I didn’t even realise I had gone anywhere,” he confessed, trying to not blush. 

Jack chuckled and stood up, wincing at little as his knees protested the movement. Kneeling on a brick floor was not fun. “Yeah, that’s what happens to me as well.” 

He sat back in his original place next to Ianto, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him back into his side. He made sure that Ianto was constantly aware of his presence to keep him focused.

None of them said anything for a long time, until Jack indicated to the Doctor that it was okay to speak now that Ianto had calmed down somewhat. 

“Ianto…” the Doctor began, uncertain of himself for the first time in a long time. “I…”

Jack was surprised to hear uncertainty in Ianto’s voice, rather than the anger he had been expecting from his boyfriend. “Why…” Ianto swallowed thickly and his eyes fluttered closed momentarily, before opening again. “Why did you never show yourself again after that?” he eventually asked.

“The myths and rumours about me and my age,” the Doctor said, sighing and looking down at his hand. “They’re all true.”

“What?” Alicia exclaimed, unable to keep to herself any longer. “That’s not possible!” The Doctor nodded his head. “You don’t look nine hundred,” Alicia accused, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him.

The Doctor looked affronted. “Excuse me, I’ll have you know I’m only eight-hundred and seventy-five,” he corrected, straightening his tie in indignation.

Alicia rolled her eyes. “Okay,” she consented. “Say I do believe that you could be over eight hundred years old. Tell me how that’s possible,” she instructed. “I have studied Time Lords and Gallifrey since I was old enough to read. No where in the books did it state that they had longevity.”

He looked at Alicia with curious eyes. “Before I tell you that, I want to know… How do you know about me? Why do you know about me, but Ianto doesn’t?” he demanded.

Alicia scowled and unfastened her watch. She held out her arm, showing him the mark and watching in smug amusement as the Doctor’s jaw fell open. 

“You’re a Guardian?” he breathed in amazement, jumping to his feet and running around the coffee table. He placed his glasses on and ran his fingers over the mark on her skin, inspecting intently. “It’s real,” he whispered, childlike awe still evident in his voice.

“Of course it’s real,” Alicia snapped, wrenching her arm out of his grip. “Why would I tattoo a blue flame on my skin when I was three?”

The Doctor was still looking at her as though she were the best thing he had ever seen. “I can’t believe you exist,” he confessed, running a hand through his hair and averting his eyes in wonderment.


	29. Chapter 29

“I hate to break up this strange little party,” Jack interrupted from where he was still sitting next to Ianto. “But when one of you decides to speak English and let us know what’s going on, we’ll be right here waiting for you!” he practically shouted. He - like Ianto - was getting annoyed by the Doctor’s ability to change subjects rapidly.

“Oh,” the Doctor murmured, finally releasing Alicia and sitting back on the couch next to Jack and Ianto. “I suppose I should explain from the beginning, shouldn’t I?”

Yvonne rolled her eyes, moving from where she had been stood silently by the window, to one of the unoccupied armchairs around the coffee table. “I think that would be recommended, Doctor.”

“But, before I do that, Mr Harkness,” he turned to look at the American, “can I ask what your power is?” he added, nodding down to where Jack’s left hand was holding Ianto’s, while his other arm was still wrapped around his shoulders.

Jack frowned. “I… I can control ice,” he reluctantly confessed at Alicia’s urging. 

The Doctor whistled in amazement and smiled apologetically. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. When we left Gallifrey, there were only a few of us that got away. My wife and I settled in Wales. We lived there for many years, until she passed away. She was older than I was and died at the age of,” he paused, trying to remember her age, “Nine-hundred and three, I think.”

“I met Nessie in 1901,” the Doctor continued. 

“Nessie?” Jack echoed in confusion.

“My great-grandmother,” Ianto replied distractedly, all his attention focused on the man in front of him.

“She was grieving the loss of her first husband to influenza,” the Doctor informed them, his eyes going distant as he remembered the past. “To cut a long story short, we were good friends who quickly fell in love. We married in 1905 and a little under a year later, Ianto’s grandfather was born.”

“I tried to stay around for my family, but when Nessie passed away during the Great War, I knew I couldn’t face them discovering the truth about me. I hadn’t even told her I didn’t age like an ordinary person. So…” He sighed and lowered his head, “I did what I always go when things get too hard. I fled. I ran away from Wales as fast, and as far as I could.”

Silence fell over them before Ianto asked, “Why did you come back?”

The Doctor looked up and met Ianto’s eyes with his own. “I was in China, seeing the sights, when my conscious wouldn’t let me stay away any longer and I had to come back. I was away for almost ten years and my family had moved on without me. I knew then that I couldn’t force myself on them. Couldn’t bring myself to show them how different I was.”

“Did… Did any other members of the family have powers?” Ianto questioned, asking the question that had been on his mind for a while.

The Doctor shook his head. “As far as I know, no other member of the family has powers. I saw that you were going to have the power to control fire, and I knew that it was very unlikely that you would have powers without me doing something.”

Ianto leant forward, finally moving away from Jack, but not releasing his boyfriend’s hand. “Alicia said that when you died you willed your powers to me – us,” he corrected himself, smiling apologetically at Jack.

“I did,” the Doctor agreed. “Although, Jack’s abilities were an accident. I willed my powers - well, I meant to will my powers - to you on the day you were born. As far as I know, I’m the only person other than Mr Harkness who has ever had the ability to control ice. I’m not a hundred percent certain how he ended up with that power, when you don’t have it.”

Jack rested his hand against Ianto’s back and finally spoke, “You said you willed your powers to Ianto on the day he was born?” The Doctor nodded his head. “Then that might be what happened.”

“What do you mean?” the Doctor asked, his forehead crumpling in confusion.

“How do you will your powers to someone?” Alicia asked, understanding where Jack was heading.

“You have to do each power individually,” the Doctor asked, not liking that he was now the one confused. “First, I willed my power to control fire, then ice, then finally my pre cognitive abilities.”

“That might be how I ended up with one of your powers,” Jack replied. “I was born in August 1983…”

“On the same day as me,” Ianto added, lacing their fingers.

The Doctor’s eyes widened and he stared at the couple in surprise. “You mean… Wow. Now I know how it’s possible for you,” he looked over at Alicia, “to exist.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, scowling at him and folding her arms over her chest.

“Guardians are…” He sighed, running his hand over the back of his neck as he tried to think of how best to phrase his next words. “According to the old legends, all souls had two powers. The eternals saw that the souls couldn’t handle having that much power inside them, and separated the two, scattering them throughout time – and apparently, space as well.”

“So why did you have two powers?” Ianto demanded, looking at the Doctor suspiciously.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Is he always this impatient?” he asked of the other’s in the room.

“Yes,” they all chorused immediately, earning themselves a glare from Ianto: Jack more so than the others.

“I had three powers actually,” the Doctor corrected, earning himself a fierce glare from his great-grandson. “But, to answer your question, I don’t know. No one could ever figure out why I was so different from the others.”

“According to legend, Guardians were assigned to powers: one per power. It was their job to teach that person to control their powers and how to use them properly.”

“Did you have three Guardians?” Alicia asked softly.

The Doctor shook his head. “I didn’t have one,” he replied. “When the Eternals scattered the powers, they also did the same with their Guardians. That wasn’t their best decision admittedly. It’s very rare for a power to meet their Guardian, given that they weren’t even guaranteed to end up in the same time-,”

“Or Galaxy,” Ianto added with a roll of his eyes.

The Doctor turned to his great-grandson. “Do you want to tell the story?” he snapped. Ianto shook his head and raised his hands in the air. “Then shush. Don’t think you can get mouthy with me, young man. I’ve saved you from serious trouble more times than you know in the past.”

Ianto scowled and folded his arms across his chest. He slouched back in his seat and glared at Jack when his boyfriend dared to laugh.

‘Sorry,’ Jack mouthed, pressing a soft kiss against Ianto’s neck.

The Time Lord smiled affectionately, before turning back to Alicia and continuing with his story. “Without a Guardian, a power cannot fully manifest itself and the controller can’t reach their full potential.”

“You said it was one Guardian per power,” Alicia said. “This,” she held her hand out, displaying the mark for the Doctor to see, “looks like it indicates both Jack and Ianto.”

The Doctor nodded his head, running his hand over the back of his neck. “It looks like it,” he agreed. “I honestly have no idea why you’re Guardian for both of them.”

“Do you know how she became our Guardian?” Jack asked softly, looking around his boyfriend at the Doctor.

“According to legend.” The Doctor held a hand up, “And this is just what the myths say. No one knows for sure how Guardian’s came to be. To be honest, I’ve never met one until now.”

They nodded, showing that they understood what he was saying before he continued. “The Guardian’s souls that were scattered, throughout the whole of creation. Meeting your Guardian was considered to be improbable at the best, impossible at worst.” 

They fell silent, each of them trying to take in all the information that they’d just been given before the Doctor added, “So, Jack you can control ice, and Ianto you’re a pre-cog and can control fire, right?”

Ianto chuckled and shook his head. “Actually, Doctor,” he argued. “There’s something else you should know.”


	30. Chapter 30

Jack and Ianto listened to the Doctor talking about Gallifrey for another few hours, before Yvonne decided that they needed to get some sleep; she had actually used the words ‘before your heads explode’.

Yvonne had been gracious enough to put the Doctor up in the main school building. She had shooed the teenagers to their room.

Ianto yawned a little and looked over at Jack as they undressed. His American boyfriend hadn’t really said much since they had left the Doctor; all of them were too tired to deal with anything else. 

“I’m going to have to tell Rhiannon, aren’t I?” Ianto muttered, pulling his t-shirt off and throwing it the laundry basket.

Jack made a noise in the back of his throat as he headed into their bathroom to clean his teeth, not saying a word to his boyfriend.

Ianto sighed heavily and flopped onto the bed, pulling his shoes off and throwing them on the floor. He wasn’t looking forward to informing his sister about their great-grandfather. If he was honest with himself, he was surprised she didn’t already know. He could only presume that the Doctor’s mind was shielded from Rhiannon’s, just as it was from Alicia’s.

Jack returned from the bathroom, and Ianto looked over his shoulder. He sighed when he saw that Jack was wearing his pyjamas, instead of what he normally wore for bed – nothing at all.

Ianto clenched his teeth and barely stopped himself from growling in annoyance as he pulled his jeans off and threw them in the laundry basket as well, leaving him in just his boxers. Jack may have decided that he was going to wear actual pyjama’s for bed, but Ianto wasn’t about to copy him; he was sleeping in what he was most comfortable.

Silently, he lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling and tucking his hands behind his head. He was trying to figure out a way to find out what was wrong with Jack. He had long since realised that trying to press the American for information usually resulted in the other teenager clamming up and refusing to speak.

“What is your problem?” Ianto demanded, turning on his side to face Jack.

“Nothin’,” Jack muttered, closing his eyes and rolling over so he was facing away from Ianto.

Ianto didn’t even stop himself from growling this time as he placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, forcing him to roll over onto this back. “Don’t lie to me, Jack,” he ordered. “You’ve been quiet ever since we left the Doctor, and I want to know what’s wrong with you.”

Jack sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, before forcing them open and studying the Welsh teenager. “I was a mistake,” he whispered.

Ianto frowned deeply. “What?” 

“You heard what the Doctor said,” Jack retorted. “He had three powers and he meant to will them all to you. I was never meant to have any powers. If he hadn’t tried to will them to you, I would have been normal and Gray wouldn’t have…” he trailed off with a shake of his head.

Ianto’s throat tightened and he immediately felt awful for not thinking about how Jack would feel at the knowledge that he hadn’t meant to have powers. “Oh, Jack,” he whispered, pulling his boyfriend into his arms, despite the American’s protesting. “You don’t know that.”

Jack snorted with humourless-laughter. “Don’t I?” he scoffed.

“What happened with Gray wasn’t your fault,” Ianto murmured, pressing his lips to the other teenager’s dark hair. “I thought we’d been over this.”

Jack sighed and pushed away from Ianto, leaning up on his elbows and staring down at the mattress for a long moment. “I wasn’t meant to have this power, Ianto,” he whispered, running the tips of his fingers over the pattern on the pillowcase.

Ianto bit his lip, not knowing what he could say that would make Jack feel better about himself. “Just because the Doctor didn’t mean to give one of his powers to you, doesn’t mean you weren’t meant to have them.”

Jack frowned and stared at Ianto in confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he stated slowly.

Ianto rolled his eyes. “How do you know that you wouldn’t end up with the power to control ice in the first place?” he demanded. “You might have had that power in you all along; the Doctor just helped activate it.”

“Alicia said there are only two people – other than the Doctor – with the ability to control fire and ice,” Jack reminded him. “Me and you. It’s not very likely that I’d end up with one of his powers by coincidence.”

Ianto could see that Jack wasn’t buying it and sighed deeply. “You think you’re the only one who didn’t want these powers?” He scoffed and shook his head. “Get your head out of your arse, Harkness. The world does not revolve around you; you’re not the only one whose life has been affected by them.”

He pulled away from his boyfriend and rolled over, so he was facing away from Jack. “I know,” Jack sighed, reaching out and placing a hand on the Welsh teenager’s shoulder. “I know you’ve been treated differently by your mom and dad ever since…”

Ianto shrugged his hand off and turned back to face the American. “I’m not talking about my parents,” he stated. “I don’t care what they think about me – or how they treat me – anymore.”

“Then, what…?” Jack frowned in confusion as he tried to figure out what Ianto was talking about.

Ianto sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “All this time we’ve been going out and you never thought to ask about my relationship with Lisa?” He forced his eyes open and looked at Jack.

Jack frowned deeply. “I thought you were just friends,” he confessed.

“We are now,” Ianto agreed. “But we used to go out.”

The American turned to his boyfriend, his mouth falling open in surprise. “You did?” Ianto nodded his head. “When?” he demanded.

Ianto rolled his eyes and placed a hand on the other teenager’s arm. “Calm down,” he instructed. “It was almost three years ago.”

“What happened?” Jack asked softly, looking into Ianto’s eyes and seeing hurt reflected back at him.

Ianto took a deep breath and averted his eyes for a moment, before glancing back at his boyfriend. “We were kissing one night,” he began. “We were getting really into it as well. I was kissing my way down her chest-,”

Jack raised an eyebrow and stared at Ianto. “You were getting hot and heavy at fourteen?” he asked, trying to not laugh.

Ianto glared at him. “Shut up,” he ordered. “Anyway,” he continued, getting back on track, “before we got too serious, Lisa pushed me away and clutched her stomach in pain. I’d been so preoccupied I didn’t think to control my powers.”

Jack drew in a breath of horror, realising where Ianto was heading. “Oh, Ianto,” he murmured, drawing the other teenager into his arms. 

Ianto let out a bark of bitter laughter and leant against Jack. “She swears blind she doesn’t hate me,” he whispered, burying his face in his boyfriend’s chest, breathing in his scent. “But I know she’s just saying that so I don’t feel as guilty. She still has a scar on her stomach.”

Jack pressed his lips against Ianto’s hair and held him tightly. “It wasn’t your fault,” he assured him.

The Welsh teenager lifted his head and looked at Jack with an incredulous expression on his face. “When you start believing Gray’s death wasn’t your fault, then I’ll believe I couldn’t help what happened to Lisa.”

Jack rolled his eyes and cupped Ianto’s cheek, leaning up a little and pressing a soft kiss against his lips. “Is that why you freaked out so much when were at Rhiannon’s?”

Ianto nodded and rested his forehead against Jack’s. “I just…” he sighed and closed his eyes. “I didn’t want another repeat of what happened with Lisa. Me and her, we’re friends but as boyfriend and girlfriend we were never the same after that night. I…” He flushed hotly and wished he had never mentioned anything. 

He forced his eyes open and stared at Jack, almost growling when he realised there was no way the American would let him get away with not finishing his sentence. “I don’t want something like that coming between us,” he confessed, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him.

The smug smile on Jack’s face was proof that Ianto was going to regret his moment of sappiness in the near future. “It won’t,” the other teenager assured him, leaning up and capturing Ianto’s lips with his own. “I promise you. As long as neither of us touch while we’ve got hold of Jamie, we’ll be fine.”

Ianto bit his lip in thought and pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking down at Jack questioningly. “Do you think the Doctor will know anything about that?”

Jack shrugged, pulling Ianto back into his arms and pulling the sheet up over them. “He seems to know a lot about Alicia being our Guardian. We can ask him in the morning,” he murmured, his eyes falling closed, adding it to the ever-growing list of things they needed answers to.

Ianto watched Jack doze for a moment, before kissing him softly and shifting closer, resting his head against the American’s chest. 

“What was that for?” Jack asked sleepily, cracking one eye open and looking down at Ianto.

“No reason,” Ianto whispered, closing his eyes and turning his face a little so he could breath in Jack’s scent and allow it to lull him to sleep.

The End


End file.
